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The Grand flrmy of the Repablle 



The credit of having originally suggested the 
organization of the Grand Army of the Republic- 
is fairly divided between two men, B. F. Ste- 
phenson. M. D., Major of the Fourteenth 
Illinois Infantry, and the Rev. William J. Rut- 
ledge, chaplain of the same regiment. The 
regiment formed part of Sherman's expedition 
to Meridian, Miss., in February, 18(irl, and it was 
in this campaign that Chaplain Rutledge sug- 
gested to Major Stephenson the advisability of 
forming some sort of association that would 
preserve the friendships and memories of the 
common trials and dangers of the war. Aftei 
the close of the army service this subject formed 
the basis of their correspondence, until March. 
1866, when Chaplain Rutledge met Dr. Stephen- 
son, by appointment, in Sprinarfield, Illinois, and 
spent some time with him in arranging a ritual 
for the proposed organization. 

The following are known to have participated 
iu the conferences in Springfield that finally 
resulted in the organization of the Grand Army 
of the Republic : Col. John M. Snyder, Dr. 
James Hamilton. Maj. Robert M. Woods, Jlaj. 
Robert Allen, Chaplain William J. Rutledge, 




B. F. STEPUEN.SON, 31. D. 

Major and Surgeon Fourteenth Illinois Volun- 
teers, one of the founders and organizers 
of the Grand Army and Comman- 
der-in-Chief, 1866. 




REV. AMLLIAM J. KLTLEDGE 

Captain Fourteenth Illinois Volunteers, one 
of the founders of the Grand Army. 

Col. Martin Flood. Col. Daniel Grass. Col. Ed- 
ward Prince, Capt. John S. Phelps, Capt. John 
A. Lightfoot, Capt. (Since Colonel) B. F. Smith, 
Brevet Maj. A. A. Worth, Capt. Henry E. Howe 
and Col. B. F. Hawkes. Meetings were held 
in the offices of Drs. Allen, Hamilton and 
Stephenson and afterward in the office of 
Col. John M. Snyder, Secretary to Governor 
Richard Oglesby. 

Xo name had been decided upon at this time, 
and it is probable that the name of an order 
started in Missouri in 186"), the '"Advance Guard 
of America." or the "Grand Army of Progress," 
contained the suggestion of the title. The 
ritual of the '"Soldiers and Sailor's League" 
was also used in the organization at the sug- 
gestion and with the aid of Capt. John S. Phelps, 
Thirty-second Illinois Infantry, who had been 
promoted for meritorious conduct at Fort 
Donelson and Pittsburg Landing. The iTrst 
post of the Grand Array of the Republic was 
established by Dr. Stephenson at Decatur. 111., 
on the 6th day of April, 1866. The charter read 
as follows: 

Grand Akmy of the Republic, 
Department of Illinois. 
To all whom it may concern, greeting : 
Know ye, that the Commander of the De- 



partment of Illinois, reposing special trust and 
confidence in the patriotism and fidelity of M. 
F. Kanan, G. R. Steele, George H. Dunning, I. 
C. Pugh, J. H. Nale, J. T. Bishop, C. Reibsame, 
J. W. Routh, B. F. Sibley, I. N. Coltrin, Joseph 
Prior and A. Toland, does by the authority in 
him vested, empower and constitute them 
charter members of an encampment of the 
Grand Army of the Republic, to be known as 
Post 1 of Decatur, District of Macon, Depart- 
ment of Illinois, and they are liereby constituted 
as said post, and to do and perform all acts 
necessary to conduct and carry on said organiza- 
tion in accordance with the constitution of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. 

Done at Springfield, 111., this 6th day of 
April, 1866. 

B. F. Stephen.son, 
Commander of Department. 
Robert M. Woods, Adjutant General. 

The minutes of the first meeting contain the 
following: 

"At an informal meeting held April 6, 1866, for 
the purpose of organizing an Encampment of 
the Grand Army of the Republic, the following- 
named persons were mustered by Major Ste- 
phenson, and constituted charter members: I. 
C. Pugh, George R. Steele, J. "W. Routh, Jos. 
Prior, J. H. Nale, J. T. Bishop, G. H. Dunning, 
B. F. Sibly, M. F. Kanan, C. Reibsame, I. N. 
Coltrin, Aquilla Toland." 





2.— S. A. HUKLBllT, 1866-67. 



3 JOHN A. LOGAN, 1868-69-TO. 

At the meeting on April 10, N. Q. Burns, 
Henry Gorman, N. E. Winholtz, W. H. An- 
drews and W. H. B. Rowe, were mustered in 
due form, and tlius became the the first recruits 
after the organization of the post. 

Orders were issued by Dr. Stephenson dated 
in April, 1866, appointing staff officers. A call 
dated June 26, 1806, summoned the "Grand 
Army of the Republic" and Illinois soldiers and 
sailors to a convention in the hall of the House 
of Representatives at Springfield on July 12, 
To this call some well known names were signed. 
Among them were those of John L. Beveridge 
Colonel of the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry and 
afterward Governor of the State of Illinois; 
Gen. William Birney, Colonel of a colored regi- 
ment, and son of the famous James G. Birney, 
who with Thomas Earle of Philadelphia formed 
in 18l0 the first Presidential ticket of the Liberty 
liarty, and Gen. John M. Palmer, ex-Governor 
of Illinois and now Senator of the United States. 
The last named was elected First Department 
Commander of Illinois. 

The election of a Department Commander by 
the Springfield Convention relieved Major Ste- 
phenson of any further responsibility for the 
work of organization in Illinois, and he turned 
his attention to other States, acting as Com- 
mander-in-Chief, without other authority than 
that first assumed, as the organizer of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. In October, 1866. 
Departments had been formed in Illinois, Wis- 



consin, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota, and posts 
in Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, District 
of Columbia, Massachusetts, New York and 
Pennsylvania. 

FIRST ANNUAL ENCAMPMENT 

In an order issued by Major Stephenson as 
Commander-in-Chief, dated October 31. 1866, the 
order was instructed to meet in First Annual 
Encampment at Indianapolis, Ind., on November 
20, 1866. On that occasion the first national 
officers were elected as follows: 

Commander-in-Chief, S. A. Hurlbut, Illinois; 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, J. B. Mc- 
Kean, New York; 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, R. S. Fos- 
ter, Indiana. 

Adjutant General, B. F. Stephenson, Illinois. 

Quartermaster General. August Willich, Ohio. 

Surgeon, Gen. D. C. M(;Neil, Iowa. 

Chaplain, William A. Pile. Missouri. 

The famous war Governor of Indiana, Oliver 
P. Morton, was present and was received with 
the greatest enthusiasm. 

THE SECOND ANNUAL SESSION 

of the Grand Army took place in the Assembly 
Buildings, Tenth and Chestnut Streets, Phila- 
delphia. January 15, 1868. 
The following were elected officers: 
Commander-in-Chief, John A. Logan, Illinois. 





5.— CHARLl S 1)1 A IONS, 1873-74-'75. 



4.-VM3 I ) i3 E BUKNSIDK, 1871-73-73. 



Senior Vice Commander-in Chief, Joshua T. 
Owen, Pennsylvania. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Joseph R. 
Hawley, Connecticut. 

Adjutant General, N. P. Chipman, Potomac. 

Inspector General, Edward Jardine, Nevr 
Jersey. 

Quartermaster General. T. C. Campbell, Ohio. 

Surgeon General. Dr. John Bell, Iowa, 

Chaplain General, Rev. A. H. Quaint, Mass- 
achusetts. 

THE THIRD ANNUAL SESSION 
was held in Cincinnati. O., May 12, 1869. The 
report of Adjutant General Chipman opened 
with a brief reference to the formation of the 
Grand Army, followed by a thorough review of 
the condition of the departments, numbering 
thirty-seven, with about 2500 posts. The Adju- 
tant General made no estimate of the member- 
ship on account of the meagre and unsatisfac- 
tory returns of several large departments. 

The election of officers resulted as follows: 

Commander-in-Chief, John A. Logan (re- 
elected) Illinois. 

SeniorVice Commander-in-Chief, Lucius Fair- 
child, Wisconsin. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Joseph R. 
Hawley, Connecticut. 

Surgeon General, S. B. Wylie Mitchell, Penn- 
sylvania. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev. A. H. Quaint, D. D., 
Massachusetts. 



THE FOUKTH ANNUAL SESSION 

assembled in Washington, D. C, May 11, 1870, 
Commander-in-Chief, John A. Logan presiding. 

The following officers were elected. 

Commander-in-Chief, John A. Logan (re- 
elected) Illinois. 

SeniorVice Commander-in Chief,Lucius Fair- 
child (re-elected) Wisconsin. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Louis Wag- 
ner, Pennsylvania. 

Surgeon General, Samuel A. Green, Massa- 
chusetts. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, George W. Collier. 

THE FIFTH ANNUAL SESSION 

of the National Kncanipment was held m John 
A. Andrew Post Hull. Boston, May 10, 1S71, 
Commander-in-Chiel. John A. Logan presiding. 
Seventeen depaitnicnts were represented by 
sixty-eight delegates. 

The following otticers weie ilected: 

Comniandcr-iuC'hief, Ambrose E. Burnside, 
Rhode Island. 

Senior N'iie Connuander-in-Cliief, Louis Wag- 
ner, Pennsylvania. 

JuniorVice Coniniander-in-Chit'f.James Coey, 
California. 

Surgeon General. Dr. Kaniuel A.Green, Mass- 
achusetts (re-elei'ted) 

Chaplain-in-C'hief. Rev, Wm Earnshaw, Ohio. 




JOHN F. H.\KTKAXFT, 1875-70-77. 



^j>^-% 




7.— JOHN C. ROBINSON, 1877-78-79, 

THE SIXTH ANNUAL SESSION 
of the National Encampment was held in Cleve- 
land, May 8, 187.', Commander in-Chief. A. E. 
Burnside presiding. Sixteen departments were 
represented by sixty-two delegates. 

The following officers were elected. 

Commander-in-Chief. Ambrose E. Burnside, 
Rhode Island (re-elected). 

SeniorVice Commander-in-Chief, Louis Wag- 
ner, Pennsylvania (re-elected). 

Junior Vi''e Commander-in-Chief, Gen. J. 
Warren Keifer, of Ohio, afterward Speaker of 
the Lower House of Congress (session of 'Sl-'83) 

Surgeon General, Dr. Samuel A Green, Mass- 
achusetts (re-elected) 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev.Wm. Earnshaw, Ohio, 
(re-elected). 

THE SEVENTH ANNUAL SESSION 
of the National Encampment met in the hall of 
the House of Representatives, New Haven, 
Conn., May 14, 1873, Commander-in-Chief, A. E. 
Burnside presiding. 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, Charles Devens, Jr., 
Massachusetts. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, John R. 
Goble. New Jersey. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Edward 
Ferguson, Wisconsin. 

Surgeon General, Dr. Hans Powell, New York 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev. Augustus Woodbury, 
Rhode Island. 



THE EIGHTH ANNUAL, SESSION 
-of the National Encampment assembled in Ilar- 
iisl)urs. Pa., May 13, 1.S7-I, Commander-in Chief 
•Charles Devens. Jr., presiding. Fifteen depait- 
,ments were represented hy fifty-one delegates. 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, Charles Devens, Jr.. 
Massachusetts (re-elected). 

Senior Vice Conimander-inChief, Edward 
.Jardine. New York. 

Junior Vice Conimander-in Chief, Guy T. 
•Gould, Illinois. 

Surgeon General. Dr. TIans Powell, New York 
'(re-elected). 

Chaplain-in Chief. Rev. Augustus Woodbury, 
Khode Island, (re-elected) 

THE NINTH ANNl'AL SESSION 
■of the National Encampment assembled in 
■Chicago, May 12, 1875, Commander-in-Chief 
■Charles Devens. Jr., presiding. 

The following ofhcers were eleotcd: 

Commander-in Chief. John F. Hartranft, 
Pennsylvania. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, J. S. Rey- 
nolds, Illinois. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Charles J. 
Buckbee, Connecticut. 

Surgeon General Dr. John \V. Foye, Massa- 
•chusetts. 

Chai)lain-in Chief, Rev. Myron W. Reed, 
"W^lscmisiii. 



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9 LOUIS \> Al.NKH, I.S80-81. 



8.— WILLIAM KAKNSHAW, 1879-80. 



THE TENTH ANNITAl, SESSION 
of the Natiimal Encanipment met in the hall of 
Post No. 2. Thirteenth and Spring Garden Sts., 
Philadelphia. June 30, 1876. 

The following offlceis were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, John F. Hartranft, 
Pennsy 1 vania ( re-el ected ) . 

Senior Vice Commander-iuChief, J. S. Rey- 
nolds, Illinois. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Charles J. 
Buckbee, Connecticut. 

Suigeon General, Dr. James L. Watson, New 
York. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev. Joseph F. Lovering, 
Massachusetts. 

THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL SESSION 
of the National Encampment met in the armory 
i»f the First Light Infantry, Providence, Rhode 
Island. June 20, 1877. Coramander-in Chief, 
John F. Hartranft i)residing. 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, John C. Robinson, New 
York. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Elisha H. 
Rhodes, Rhode Island. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, William 
Earnshaw, Ohio. 

Surgeon General, Dr. James L. Watson, New 
York (re-elected). 

Chap!ain-in-Chief, Rev. Joseph F. Lovering, 
Massachusetts (re-elected). 



THE TWELFTH ANNUAL SESSION 
of the National Encampment met in Springfield, 
Mass., June 4, 1878. 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, John C. Robinson. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Paul Van 
Der Voort, Nebraska. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Herbert E. 
Hill, Massachusetts. 

Surgeon General, James L. Watson. New 
York, (third term). 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Joseph F. Lovering, Mass- 
achusetts (third term). 

THE THIRTEENTH ANNUAL, SESSION 
of the National Encampment met in Albany, 
N. Y., June 17, 1879. 

The following officers were elected. 

Commander-in-Chief, Rev. William Eurn- 
shaw, Ohio. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, John Pal- 
mer, New York. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Harrison 
Dingman, 

Surgeon General, Dr. W. B. Jones, Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev. Joseph F. Lovering, 
Massachusetts (fourth term). 

THE FOURTEENTH ANNUAL SESSION 
of the National Encampment met at the Nation- 
al Soldiers' Home, Dayton, O., June 8, 1880. 



-''S^!t> 





10. -GKOKGE S. MERRILL, 1881-83. 



ll._PAUL. VAN 1>ER VOORT, 1883-83. 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief. Louis Wagner, Penn- 
sylvania. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Edgar D. 
Swain, Illinois. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, George 
Bowers, New Hampshire. 

Surgeon General, Dr. A. C. Hamlin, Maine. 

Chaplaiu-in-Chief, Rev. Joseph F. Lovering, 
Massachusetts, (fifth term). 

THE FIFTEENTH ANNUAL SESSION 

of the National Encampment assembled in Ind- 
ianajjolis, Ind.. June 15, 1881. Commander-in- 
(Jhief. Louis Wagner presiding. Departments 
were represented by 126 delegates. The number 
of members in good standing as reported by 
Adj. Gen. Robert B. Beath, was 60,678 against 
15,876 the previous year. 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, George S. Merrill, Mass- 
achusetts. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Charles L. 
Young, Ohio. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, C. V. R. 
Pond, Michigan. 

Surgeon General, Dr. Charles Styer, Penn- 
sylvania. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev. Joseph F. Lovering. 
Massachusetts (sixth term). 



THE SIXTEENTH ANNUAL SESSION 

of the National Encampment met in Baltimore, 
June 21, 1882. Commander-in-Chief George S. 
Merrill presiding. Ad.jt. Gen. William M. Olin 
reported: 

Members in good standing December 31, 

1880 W.*'"''^ 

Members in good standing Decemlier 31, 

1881 8-5, 850 

Gain for the year 2.5,27S 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, Paul Van Der Voort, 
Nebraska. 

Senior Vice Commandei -in-Chief, W. E. W. 
Ross, Maryland. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, I. S. Bangs, 
Maine. 

Surgeon General, Dr. Azel Ames, Jr., Massa- 
chusetts. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev. I. M. Foster, New 
York. 





^ 0[ 




13 JOHN S. KOUNTZ, 1884-85. 



THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL, SESSION 

of the National Encampment met in Denver. 
July 25, 1883. Adjutant General F. E. Brown 
reported: 

Members in good standing, Dec. 31, 1881, 85,856 
Members in good standing, Dec. 31, 1882, 131,890 



13.— ROKERT IJ. liEATH, 1883-84. 



Gain for the year 46,034 

Members in good standing, March 31, 1882 90,166 
Members in good standing, March 31, 1883 145,932 



Gain for the year. 55,766 

Total gain since Dec. 31, 1881 60,076 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, Robert B. Beath, Penn- 
sylvania. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, William 
Warner, Missouri. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Walter H. 
Holmes, California. 

Surgeon General, Dr. Azel Ames, Jr., Massa- 
chusetts, (re-elected). 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev. I. M. Foster, New 
York, (re-elected). 



THE EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL, SESSION 
of the National Encampment met in Minne- 
apolis, Minn., July 23, 1881. Thirty-two depart- 
ments were represented by 3fl2 department 
oiBcers and representatives. Adjutant Gen. 
John M. Vanderslice presented a report 
showing: 

Members in good standing, Marcli 31, 

1883 H6.]83 

, Members in good standing, Maroli 31, 

1884 2*^ .595 

Membership reported June 30, 1881 2-53.895 

Number of Posts March 31, 1883 2,575 

31, 18S1 4,325 

Net gain in membership during the year 87,418 

Posts 1,"'8 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief. John 8. Kountz. Ohio. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief. John P. 
Rea. Minn. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Ira E. 
Hicks, Conn. 

Surgeon General. \V. D. Hall, Pa. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, T. M. Shanafelt. Mich. 





14._S. S. liUKDKTT, 188.->-8G. 



1.5.— TOUCH'S FAIKCHILI>, 1886-87. 

THE NINTEENTH ANNUAL SESSION 

of the National Encampment met at Portland, 
Maine, June 21, 1885. Thirty-eight departments 
were represented, and 497 department officers 
and representatives were present. Adjutant 
General W. W. Alcorn reported the following: 
Membei s in good standing. March 31, 1884, 2*].824 
Members in good standing. March 31, 1.SS5, 269,684 
Number of Posts reported March 31, 1884, 4.256 
Number of Posts reported March 31, 1885, 5,026 

Net gain in Posts during the year 992 

The election of officers resulted as follows: 

Conamander-in-Chief, Samuel S. Burdett, 
Washington. D. C. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Seldon 
Connor, Maine. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, John R. 
Lewis, Ga. 

Surgeon General. J. C. Tucker. Cal. 

Chaplain-iii-Chief, L. H. Stewart, Ohio. 

THE TWENTIETH ANNUAL SESSION 

of the National Encampment assembled in San 
Francisco, August 4, 1886. Thirty-eight depart- 
ments were represented by 489 department 
officers and representatives. Adjt. Gen. John 
Cameron reported as follows: 



Members in good staiuling JMarcli 31, 

18*) 20n,(i(»4 

Members in good standing Marcli 31, 

1SS() 295.357 

Number of posts reported Marc'li 31, 1885 6,026 
Number of posts reported March 31, 1886 5,705 
Net gain in membership during the year 

(in good standing) 25,013 

Net gain in posts during the year 739 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, Lucius Fairchild, Wis. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief. Samuel W. 
Backus, Cal. 

Junior N'ice Commander-in-Chief, Edgar 
Allan, Xa.. 

Surgeon General, Ambrose S. Everett, Col. 

ChapIain-in-Chief, T. C. Warner, Tenn. 

THE TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL SESSION 
of the National Encampment met in St. Louis. 
Mo., SejJtember 28. 1887. Thirty-seven depart- 
ments were represented by 585 officers and 
representatives. Adjutant Gen. E. B. Gray 
reported as follow: 
Members in good standing, March 31, 

18S6 295,337 

Members in good standing. Match 31. 

18h7 320.910 

Niini\)er of Posts reportrd M^ncli 31. 

1>8(> 5,705 





Hi.— JOHN I'. ItKA, 1887-88. 



1..— WILLIAM WAKNKR, 1888-89. 



Number of Posts reported March 31, 

1,SS7 6,312 

Net gain m membership during the year 

( II g lod standing) 25,609 

Net gain t)f Posts during the year 540 

Tlie following officers were elected: 

C immander-in-Chief, John P. Rea, Minn. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Nelson 
C.ilf, Mo. 

.liiiiior Vice Commander-in-Chief, John C. 
Liiiclian, N. H. 

Surgeon General, Florence Donohue, Wash- 
ington, D. C. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Edward Anderson, Conn. 

THE TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL SESSION 

of the National Encampment met in Columbus, 
Ohio, September 12, 1888. Adjutant General 
Daniel Fish presented the following report. 
Members in good standing March 31, 

1887 320,936 

Members in good standing March 31, 

1,S88 354.216 

Net gain in membership in good standing 33,280 

Net gain in posts reporting 472 

Net gain in chartered posts 398 



Total in suspension 81,750 

Members in good standing 354,210 

Total membership 385,966 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, William Warner. Mo. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Moses H. 
Neil, Ohio. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Joseph 
Hadfleld, N. Y. 

Surgeon General, R. M. DeWitt, Iowa. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, S. G. Updyke, Dakota. 

TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL SESSION 
of the National Encampment met in Milwaukee, 
Wis., August 28, 1889. Forty-two departments 
were represented by 6fl department officers, 
representatives and past Department Com- 
manders. The Ajutant General reported as of 
June 30, 1889, that the number of posts was 6711 
and of members in good standing, 382,598, a gain 
in membership of 28,382 over the 31st of March, 
1888. 

The following officers were elected: 

Commander-in-Chief, Russell A. Alger, Mich. 

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, A. G. 
Weissert, Wis. 

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, J. F. Lov- 
ett. N. J. 

Surgeon General, Dr. Horace P. Porter, Kan. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev. W. H. Childers. Ky 





18.— RUSSELL. A. ALGKR, 1889-90. 



19._WHJEEL.OCK G. VEAZEY, 1890-91. 



THE TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL SESSION 

of the National Encampment met in Boston, 
Mass., August 13, 1890. 

On June 30, 1890, the total number of 
comrades in good and regular stand- 
ing was 427,982 

Total membership borne on rolls 458,230 

Number of posts reported June 30, 1889. . 6,711 
Number of posts reported June 30. 1890. . 7,175 

Number of deaths during the year 5,476 

This was a gain in membership in good stand- 
ing of 45,383, and in posts of 464. The total 
membership on the rolls June 30, 1890, including 
members delinquent, in suspension and out on 
transfer cards, was 458,230. 1072 delegates were 
present. 

The following officers were elected: 

~Commander-in Chief, ,,Wlieelock . G. Veazey, 
Vermont. 

Sen ior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Richard 
Tobin, Massachusetts. 

Ju nior Vice Commander-in-Chief, George W 
Creamer, Maryland. 

Surgeon General B. F. Stephenson, Kentucky. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Myron Reed of Colorado. 



THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL SESSION 

of the National Encampment of the Grand 
Army of the Republic convened in Detroit, 
Michigan, August 7. 1891. Commander-in-Chief 
Veazey presiding. This was the silver anniver- 
sary of the order and was the occasion of an 
unusual degree of interest and enthusiasm. 

The roll of the Twenty-Fifth National En- 
campment consisted as follows: 
National Officers (all of whom were 

present) 10 

Members of the Council of Adminis- 
tration 43 

Past National Officers !* 

Department Officers 177 

Past Department Commanders 384 

Representatives at large and appor- 
tioned 452 

Total 1,104 

The Encampment elected the following offi- 
cers for the ensuing year: 

Commander-in-Chief, John Palmer, New York 
Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, Henry M. 
Duffield, Michigan. 



Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, J. S. Clark- 
son, Nebraska. 

Surgeon General, Benjamin F. Stevenson, 
Kentucky. 

Chaplain-in-Chief. Rev. S. B. Paine. Florida. 

The Commander-in-Chief appointed the fol- 
lowing general staff officers: 

Adjutant General. Frederick Phisterer, New 
York. 

Quartermaster General, John Taylor, Phila- 
delphia. 

Inspector General, John P. Pratt, New Jersey 

Judge Advocate General, Joseph W. O'Neall, 
Ohio. 

Ass't Adjutant General, David W. Quick, 
New York. 

The Council of Administration consists of 
forty-five members, one elected by each Depart- 
ment. The various Committees and a corps of 
aides-de-camj} number about one hundred in all. 

Adjt. Gen. J. H. Goulding submitted a series 
of tabular summaries showing the growth of the 
order and its status at the date of his report. 



table of progression. 

Showing the Membekship in Good Standing of the Gkand Army of the 
Eepublic, dttking Each Quarter in the Fourteen Years, 
Ending, December 31, 1890. 
Note.— For the six years prior to 1887, the membership of the Grand Army of the Republic 
was almost at a standstill, comprising on the average less than 2(J,000 Comrades for each year. 



QUARTERLY REPORTS. 


1877- 


1878. 


I";! quarter, March 31 

2d quarter, June 30 

3d 'quarter, September 30 
4th quarter, December 31 


25,446 
22,617 

25.749 
27,179 


26,902 
28,274 
28,715 
3t,oi6 


Total gains each year.. 


280 


3.837 



1879- 



37,777 
35-961 
38,664 
44-752 



'J. 736 



49.099 

55,260 

59.153 
60,634 



>5. 



i88i. 


61 


847 


70 


726 


77 
85 


203 
856 


■>i 


,222 



88,965 

106,096 
"9-354 
134.701 



48,845 



146,183 
178,811 
199.447 
215,446 



80,745 



QUARTERLY REPORTS 


1884. 


1885. 


1886 


ist quarter, March 31 

•26 quarter, J une 30 

3d quarter, Septetnber 30.. 
4th quarter, December 31 . . 


233.595 
256,258 

274-323 
273,168 


269.694 
275.623 
284,3^1 
294,787 


295.337 
299.891 
308.838 
323-571 


Total gains each year. . 


57.772 


21,619 


28,784 



1887. 


1888. 


320.936 
336,540 
341,213 
355.916 


354,216 
361,194 
362,^57 
372,960 


32,345 


17,044 



375 534 

382,598 
385.546 
397.974 



25,014 



392,895 
397,620 
400,554 
409.489 



'»,5iS 



EXPENDED IN CHARITY. 

During the year ending June 30, 

1890 ( relieving 21,634 persons) . . 1217,957.54 

Year ending Dec. 31, 1S90 8225,653 21 

In six months ending Dec. 31, 1890. . 107,833 77 

In six mouths ending June 30, 1891. 1 2(5,335 92 

For year ending June 30, 1891 234,169 69 

From July 1, 1871, to July 1, 1891. . . . 2,221,704 24 



MUSTERED OUT BY DEATH. 
For the year ending June 30, 1890 5,479 

Quarter ending Sept. 30, 1890 1,241 

Dec. 31, 1890 1,485 

Six months ending June 30, 1891 3,239 

Total number 5,965 

This is 480 more than the record of the pre- 
vious twelve months, but all rejiorts were not in 
hands of tlie Adjutant General at the date of 
his report, and the actual number of deaths for 
the year was unquestionably much greater. 



Detailed Tabular Stateiueiit of the number of Posts and meinbersliip of the (i. A. K. 

to June 30, 1891. 



DEPARTMENTS. 



Alab.tma 

Arizona 

Arkans:is • 

California . . . 

Colorado & Wyoming. . 

Connecticut 

North Pakota 

South Dakota 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Ind. Ter'y & Oklahoma 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana & Mississippi 

Maine 

Massachusetts 

Maryland 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

New Hatnpshire 

New Jersey 

New Mexico 

New York 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania. 

Potomac 

Rhode Island 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington & Alaska. . 

West Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Totals . . 



June 30, li 



Posts. Members 



67 
117 



30 

14 

21 

16 

<3 

«7 

5QI 

524 

434 
484 
130 

«7 
158 
201 

42 

373 
.65 
426 

18 
252 

93 

112 

12 

636 

712 

50 

598 

■ 13 

21 

78 

42 

3 
105 
40 
60 
82 
264 

7,185 



302 

300 

'.749 

6,280 

2.663 

6,805 

82Q 

2,OQ5 

I ,v 1 7 

480 

407 

420 

32,35b 

25,400 

20,339 

18, 238 

4,081 

1,122 

9-584 

22,4(;0 

2,338 

20,810 

7,556 

20,3'7 
662 

8, lit 

5,041 

7.629 

340 

39-770 

46,440 
1.698 

44-379 
3-'36 
2,814 
3.^69 
897 
i6i 
5,272 
1,289 
2,215 
2,^51 

13-811 



307-941 



Sept. 30, t8 



Posts. Members 



50 
100 
57 
69 
16 
56 

21 

i6 
7 

18 
592 
524 

20 
428 
478 
109 

'7 
159 
203 

44 
362 
145 

428 

18 
251 

93 
113 



46 



23 

79 

38 

3 

107 
41 
58 
80 

264 



3-,o 

igS 
I .61 I 

6,323 
2.719 
6,897 

553 

1.882 

1,33^ 

346 

385 

447 

32.568 

25 209 

634 

20,123 

i8.3>5 

4.645 

1 .063 

9.666 

2 3,4 = 8 

2.352 

20,158 

7.096 

20,732 

675 

8,194 

5,127 

7-7>^7 

309- 

40,688 

46,1 19 

1-774 

44.390 

3.240 

2.Q82 

3,605 

994 

167 

5,39' 

1,348 

2.321 

2,614 

13.767 



Dec. 31, 



7.138 I 400.554 



107 

67 

70 

26 

94 

'9 

17 

9 

19 

596 

523 

17 

437 

480 

'36 

17 

161 

205 

47 

378 

176 

437 

t6 

255 

93 

"3 

10 

634 

733 

52 

593 

14 

23 

80 

36 

3 

109 

42 

59 

82 

264 



Posts. Members 



332 

295 

2.002 

6,181 

2,940 

6,946 

7t' 

2,783 

1,328 

414 

4J2 

454 

32,641 

25 '73 

605 

20,324 

18.427 

5.789 

1,051 

9,676 

23-592 
2,522 

20,742 
8,201 

21,028 



8,137 

5-127 

7,732 

299 

40,865 

4';, oil 

1 ,905 

43,820 

3,205 

2.921 

3.607 

1,165 

188 

5V473 
1,388 
2.512 

2.97' 
13,775 

409,489 



June 30, 1891. 



*osts. 


Members 


II 


334 


9 


293 


77 


2,200 


99 


5.812 , 


65 


2.901 


69 


6,807 


21 


535 


95 


2,769 


19 


1,280 


19 


47' 


10 


455 


'9 


439 


600 


32 329 


523 


24,726 


14 


552 


440 


20,174 


446 


17,5'6 


96 


3,973 


'7 


1,093 


161 


9,700 


206 


23,781 


38 


2,423 


339 


19,280 


'73 


7.947 


443 


20,822 


'5 


626 


221 


7. '44 


94 


5.211 


115 


7,793 


1 1 


292 


63. 


40,444 


736 


45-522 


52 


2,052 


594 


43, '68 


14 


3,312 


25 


2.856 


87 


3,7'9 


48 


1,305 


3 


184 


110 


5,487 


44 


1,422 


6s 


2.783 


75 


2,623 


270 


13,710 


7,2t9 


398,270 



The Order showed a steady, healthy growth 
and increase up to and including December 31, 
1890, the net gains to that time for the two 
remaining quarters of 1S90 being 11,-548 members. 

The returns for June 30, 1891, received at tlie 
time of printing the last annual report, exhibit 
an apparent net loss of 11,422, which is mani- 
festly not a correct showing. Indeed, many of 
the Departments claimed large gains, but the 
time was too limited to get the reports from all 
Posts since the close of the semi-annual period. 

The reports for the period ending December 



31, 1891, being the basis of representation in the 
National Encampment, were expected by the 
Adjutant General to show not far from 42-5,000 
in good standing, and possibly a much larger 
number. 

THE 26TH ANNUAL ENCAMPMENT. 
By a vote of 366 against 340 for Lincoln, Neb., 
Washington. D. C. was chosen as the place for 
the 26th Annual Encampment of the G. A. R., 
the date fixed for the opening of the Encamp- 
ment being Sept. 20, 1892. 




COMMANDEK-IN-CHIEF JOHN r.VLUlKK.— 18'Jl-»rJ. 



ROLL OF THE TWENTY-SIXTH NATIONAL 
ENCAMPMENT. 

Commauder-in-Chief. Jolin Palmer. Albany, 
N. Y. 

Senior Vice-Commander-in-Chief, Henry M. 
Duffield, Detroit, Midi. 

Junior Vice-Commander-in-Cliief, T. S. Clark- 
sou, Omaha, Neb. 

Surgeon-General, Benjamin F. Stevenson, 
Visalia, Ky. 

Chaplain-in-Chief, Rev. S. B. Paine, Ocean 
Grove, N. J. • 

Adjutant-General, Fred. Phisterer, Albany, 
N. Y. 

Quarter-Master-General, John Taylor, Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Inspector-General, John P.Pratt, East Orange, 
N.J. 



Judge-Advocate-General, Joseph W. O'Neall, 
Lebanon, Ohio. 

Assistant-Adjutant-General, D. U. Quick 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Executive Committee, National Council of 
Administration. 

A. J. Huntoon, Washington, D. C, XR. F. 
Knapp, Saratoga, N. Y.; H. C. Luther, Prov- 
idence, R. L; tWm. McClelland, Pittsburg, 
Pa.; James R. Milner, Springfield, Mo.; Wm. 
L. Olin, Boston, Mass.; Levi B. Raymond, 
Hampton, Iowa. 

Pension Committee. 

Augustus C. Handin, Bangor, Me.; J. G. B. 
Adams, Lynn, Mass.; J. A. Sexton, Chicago, 
Ills.; Byron R. Pierce, Grand Rapids, Mich. J 
R. W. Blue, Pleasanton, Kansas. 



Committee on the Seniority ot Departments. 

Louis Wagner. Philadelphia. Pa. ; E. B. Gray. 
Marshfleld. Wis.; P. H. Dowling, Toledo, 
Ohio.; James R. Carnahan, Indianapolis, In- 
diana. 

Committee on systematic plan of teacliing 
the lessons of loyalty to our coun- 
try and one tiag. 
George S. Merrill, Lawrence, Mass.; Lucius 
Fairchild, :Madison, Wis.; JohnP. Rea, Minn- 
eapolis, Minn.; Wm. Warner, Kansas City, 
Mo.; Paul Vandervoort, Omaha, Neb. 
Committee for the erection of a memorial in 
Washington to our late comrade, 
U. S. Grant. 
S. S. Burdette. Washington, D. C; Robert 
B. Beath. Philadelphia, Pa.; Russell A. Alger, 
Detroit, Mich.: Seldin Ummor, Portland, Me.; 
W. G. Veazey, Rutland, Vt.; E.S. Grant, Mid- 
dleport, Ohio.; Horace S. Clark. Mattoon, Ills. 
Committee on form for services at the lay- 
ing of a corner stone. 
Robt. B. Beath, Philadelphia, Pa.; S. S. Bur- 
dette, Washington, D. C; H. K. Trainer, Hart- 
ford, Conn. 

COUNCIL OF ADMINISTRATION. 
Alabama, A. W. Fulghuni. Hlrraliigliani. 
Arizona, Wm. Christy, Plioenix. 
Arkansas, Isaac C. Parker, Fort Smith. 
California, Magnus Tait, Los Gatos. 
Colorado and Wyoming. .John B. Cooke, Greeley. 
Connecticut, Jolm E. Clarke, New Haven. 
Delaware, W. .). Blac kbuin, Wilmington, 
Florida. J. DeV. Hazzard, Eustis. 
Georgia, Alfred Gultnn. Augusta. 
Idaho, Geo. L. Shoup, Boise City. 
Illinois, H. S. Deltrich, Chicago. 
Indiana, Chas. H. Vleyeriiotr, Eva-.isviU?. 
Indian Territory. Uolx'rt W. Hill, iMuskogv-. 
Iowa, Levi B. Raymond, Hampton, 
Kansas, J I). Barker. Girard. 
Kentucky, .1. H. Browning, i^ouisville. 
Louisiana and Mississippi, Chas. K. Lincoln, New Or- 
leans. 
Maine, Wainwi-'t Cashing, Foxfort. 
Maryland, Alfred S. Coiper. Baltimore, 
Massachusetts, Wm. >l. Ulin, Boston. 
Michigan, B. F. Graves. Adrian. 
Minnesota, Ell. Torrance. Minneapolis. 
Missouri, .las. R. Milner, SpringfijM. 
Montana, Robert E. Kisk, Helena. 
Nebraska, .J. A. Klirhardt. 
:New Hampshire, Benjamin F. <'lark. Conway. 
New Jersey, J. AV. Kinsey. Camden. 
New Mexico, Pliilip Molliersill, Engle. 
New York, tKobert F. Knapp. Saratoga. 

North Dakota, W. H. Winchester, Bismarck. 
Ohio, Ed. S. Grant, Middleport. 
Oklahoma, G. D. aiunger, ttklahoma City. 
Oregan, B. B. Tuttle, Portland, 

Pennsylvania, tWni. McClelland, Pittsburg. 

Potomac, A. ,1. Hunt(M)n, Washington, D. C. 

Khode Island, H. C. Luther, Providence, 

South Dakota, E. W. Caldwell, Sioux Falls. 

Tennessee, W, J. Smith, Memphis. 

Texas, C. B. Stoddard, Austin. 

Utah, C. O. Farnsworth. salt Lake City. 

Vermont, D. .1. Saiford. Morrisville. 

Virginia. .Joseph G. Fulton. Fort Monroe. 

AVashlngton and Alaska, Frank ( lendeniu. Tacoma. 

West Virgina, W. H. Aspinall. AXeston. 

Wisconsin, E, A. Shores, Ashland. 



PAST NATIONAL OFFICERS. 

PAST COMMAXDEES-IN-CHIEF. 

tB. F. Stephenson (Provisional) [died Aug. 30, 

1871] 18fi6 

tS A. Hurlbut, Illinois, [died Mar. 27, 1882] . .1866-67 
tJohn A. Logan, Illinois, [died Dec. 26, 1886] 1868-9-70 
tAmbrose E. Burutide, Rhode Island, [died 

Sept. 13, 1881 1871-72 

tClias. Devens, Massachusetts, [died Jau. 7, 

1891] 1873-74 

tJohn F. Hartranft, Peunsylvaida, [died Oct. 

17, 1889] 187.5-76 

John C. Robin.son, Binghamton, N. Y 1877-78 

tWilliani Earnshaw, Ohio, [died July 17, 1885].. 1879 

Louis AA'agner, Philadelphia, Pa 1880 

George S. Merrill, Lawrence, Mass 1881 

Paid A'an Der Voort, Omaha. Neb 1882 

Robert B. Beath, Philadelphia, Pa 1883 

Johns, Kountz, Toledo, Ohio 1884 

S. S. Burdette, Wa.slnngton. T). C, 1884 

Lucius P'airchild. Madison, AVis 1886 

John P. Rea, Minneapolis, Minn 1887 

AVilllam AVarner, Kansas City, Mo 1888 

Russell A. Alger, Detroit, Mich 1889 

Wlieelock G. A'eazey, Rutland. A't 1890 

I'AST SENIOR VICE-COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF. 

tJoshuaT. Owen, Pennsylvania, [died Nov. 7, 

18S7] 1868 

Luc ius Fairchild, Madison, AA'is 1869-70 

Louis AA'agner, Philadelphia, Pa 1871-72 

Josephs. Reynolds, Chicago, 111 1875-76 

ElishaH. Rhodes, Providence, R. 1 1877 

Paul A'an l)cr A^oort, Omaha, Neb 1878 

John Palmer, Albany. N . Y 1879 

Edgar D. Swain, Chicago, 111 1880 

Charles L. A'ouug. Toledo. 1881 

W. E. A^^ Ross. Baltimore. Md 1882 

A\ illiam Warnar, Kansas City, Mo 1883 

JohnP. Rea. Minneapolis. Minn 1884 

S Iden Connor, Portland, Me 1885 

S. W. Backus. Sau Francisco, Cal 1886 

Nelson Cole, St. Loui,s, ,Mo 1887 

Moses if. Neil. Columbus, O 1888 

A. G. AVeissert, Milwaukee. AVis 1889 

+ i;ichard F. Tobin, So. Boston Mass., [died 

Nov. 22, 189(1] 1890 

George H. Innis, E. Boston, Mass., [elected 

A pril 7, 1891 ] 1891 

PAST JINIOK VlCE-COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF. 

.Joseph B. Hawley. Hartford, Conn 1868-69 

Louis Wagner, Philadelphia, Pa 1870 

J. AA'arren Keifer. Springfield. 1871-72 

Ed. Ferguson, Milwaukee. AVis., 1873 

Guy V. Goul I, Chicago, 111 1874 

C. J. Buckbee. New Haven. Conn 187.5-76 

tWilliaui Earn.shaw, (diio, [died July 17, 1885], 1877 

Herbert E. Hill. Somerville. Jlass 1878 

H. Dingman. Wasldngton. D. C 1879 

tcieorge Bowers, New Hampshire, [died Feb. 

14, 1884] 1880 

C. A'. R. Pond. Coldwati-r. Mich 1881 

I. S. Bangs, Waterville. Me ...1882 

t\V. H. Holmes. Sau Francisco, Cal., [died 

March 26. 1889] 1883 

Ira. E. Hic-s. NewBritian, Conn 1884 

John R. Lewis. Atlana, Ga., 1885 

Edgar Allen, Richmond, A'a 1886 

John C. Llu'-han, Penacock.N. H 1887 

Joseph Had Held, Ne v York City, N. Y., 1888 

J. F. Lovett, Trenton, N.J 1889 

George B, Creamer, Baltimore, Md 1890 




N APRIL 15, 1791, -was laid, with suitable ceremonies, the 
ci>ruerstone of the " Territory of Columbia," as it soon after 
l)ecame known, at Hunter's Point, just south of Alexandria, 
Va. The facts of history that lead up to the selection of this 
site and the wonderful metamorphoses that the 
city of Washington has undergone in that time TERRITORY 
are so intricate and many that room does not OF 

here afford to more than mention the most im- COLUMBIA. 
portaiit events and the most salient features. 

Sailing into the mouth of the Patowomeke came Cap;,. 
John Smith, he of Pocahontas fame, on June the 16th, 1608, 
sent by the President of the Virginia Settlements to search 
out the sources of wealth in "the Monacans countrej'. " in 
his unique nairativeof this voyage he dilates with enthusiasm 
upon the "mountains, hills, plains, valleys, rivers 
and brooks, all running most pleasantly into a fair CAPT. 
bay. " Especially does he seem to have been pleased JOHN 
with the amphitheater which lay between the eastern SMITH, 
branch of the river, 295 miles from the ocean, and 
Crawford's IFreedom. the much smaller stream nearly 5 miles further up, which is 

now called Rock Creek. Here, we are told many tribes regularly found their way to hold 
those yearly "talks" which to the Indians were Legislative Council, Executive Session and 
Court of Last Resort. It is a strange coincidence that has resulted in transforming the glade 
and meadow of the savage's chosen rendezvous into the beautiful city of park-like avenues and 
marble palaces where his conqueror, the white man, now assembles. There are some, 
indeed, who claim that it was the knowledge of this Indian custom which, in his early days, 
called Washington's attention to the natural beauties of the spot and which in after years led to 
his throwing the whole weight of his influence in favor of its selection as the site of the 
National Capital. Be that as it may, it is fortunate for posterity that Smith saw 
fit to pick out the newer and less known name Patowomeke, which has by ob- THE 

vious changes given us the present name for the river Potomac, rather than the RIVER 
less pronouncable name Cohonguroton — River of Swans* — then generally in use POTOMAC 
among the Indians. 

After the war of the Revolution and even before its termination it became evident that a 
permanent home would have to be selected by Congress where should center all those offices 
required to carry on a rising young government. For over a decade the discussion of its local- 



* Querj- — Canvass-back Ducks ? 



2 THE CAPITAL CITY. 

ity and the means for its government were the most absorbing and important source of differ- 
ences in Congress. As early as April 30, 1783, Congress, hemmed in by over 300 mutinous 
soldiers clamorous for their pay, in the State House at Philadelphia, learned that something 
more than State control was needed over the halls wherein they met. In the following years at 
Princeton, N. J., at Annapolis, Md., at Trenton, N. J., at New York City and again at Phil- 
adelphia this important question was frequently brought forward under varying circumstances, 
and each year marked an increase in the bitterness that was manifested between the members 
from the North and the South. For a long time the choice between a location near Trenton, 
N. J., and the present site hung fire. In 1789 the State of Pennsylvania offered in the Senate 
as a compromise, to deed to the Federal authorities 10 miles square around or near any of the 
following towns : Lancaster, Wright's Ferry, Carlisle, Harrisburg, Reading, or Germantown, 
now a part of Philadelphia. But from the first Virginia and her more southern neighbors had 
anchored their hopes on the Potomac and north of this they would not consent to go. The 
South Carolinians and the Georgians were outspoken in their desire to get the 
•Capital away from the proximity of the Pennsylvania Quakers who "were DIFFER- 
«ontinually dogging Southern members with their schemes of emancipation. " ENCES IN 
Said one southern Senator : " Upon this subject depends the existence of the CONGRESS. 
Union." Not inclined to view the matter so seriously, the opponents of the 
Potomac locality offered any point on the Susquehanna River as a compromise ; and for some- 
time it seemed likely that this would be agreed upon. It was approved (Ayes, 31; Nays 17) by 
the House, September 22, 1789 ; but in the Senate it was amended by substituting the Del- 
aware River. 

In all this discussion but little attention appears to have been given to the claims of the 
great West, the rapid growth of which was even then indicative of what was sure to follow. 
The strongest argument urged in behalf of the Potomac site was to the effect that the aggregate 
milage of the members of Congress was then 12,782 to the south of that stream and 12,422 to the 
north. The western limits suggested in the offer made by Pennsylvania, Harrisburg and Carl- 
isle, seem never to have been given a serious thought. For a time even so wild and impracti- 
cable a scheme as the establishment of " alternate residences " for Congress and the Executive 
Departments was gravely discussed. 

While matters remained in this uncertain state, Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the 
Treasury, was busily engaged in furthering his scheme whereby the Government should assume 
the various outstanding State debts which he rightly considered to be necessary at that time to 
maintain the credit of the Nation. This was opposed by most of the Southern members of Con- 
gress, and before it came up for a final vote it was ascertained that the change of two votes 
would be necessary to carry the measure. Then it was that Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of 
State, used his great influence, no doubt under the guidance of Washington, to harmonize 
these differences. This he succeeded in doing at a dinner where all the opposing interests were 
represented. There it was agreed that, in return for the two votes needed to carry the debt- 
assumption bill, Hamilton and Robert Morris, of Pennsylvania, would bring to bear such 
influences as would lead to the selection of the banks of the Potomac for qpiT ■frr'T'Tn'N' 
the future Federal district. This agreement was kept by both parties to it, ^^ tftf T5 AN^K^ 
and on May 31, 1790, Senator Butler, of South Carolina, introduced a bill ^^ thf 

to locate the District "on the river Potomac, at some space between the poTOMAC 
mouths of the Eastern Branch and Conogocheague. " It Avas also a part of 
this plan that from then until 1800 the Capital should remain in Philadelphia, and that in that 
year it should be moved to the new location. This bill after passing the Senate by a vote of 14 
to 12, July 1, 1790, passed the House after four ineffectual attempts to change the site, by a 
vote of 32 to 29, July 9, 1790. It received the signature of the President and became a law 
July 16, 1790. Maryland, under date of December 28, 1788, and Virginia, December 3, 1789, 
had previously passed laws granting to the Federal Government such portions of their territory 
as might be needed for this purpose. 



THE CAPITAL CITY. 



After certain additional legislation had passed Congress, President Washington issued, 
January 24, 1791 and March 30, 1791, pixxjlamatious detining the boundaries of the 100 square 
miles which were to be inclosed in an exact square one side of which, starting at Jones' Point, 
was to run ten miles in a straight line due north-west ; the other sides being governed conse- 
quently by this initial boundary. This site which was chosen by Washington, the choice being 
confirmed by Commissioners, was, in his opinion, destined to become the 
" greatest commercial emporium " in the United States. He could not, SITE CHOSEN 
of course, foresee the facts of the era of railways. This territory of 64,000 BY 

acres lay on both sides of the Potomac ; nearly three-fourths of it being to AVASHINGTON. 
the north of the river. On it there were nineteen principal proprietors; 
these, under date of March 30, 1791, signed a paper conveying to the President, or such persons 




View from State, War aud Navy Bulldiag. Looking East. 
as he should appoint, all their lands, so included, in trust. To him they gave " the sole power 
of directing the Federal city to be laid off in what manner he pleases;" to retain "any number 
of squares he may think proper;" to hold the lots, ' ' which shall he joint property between the 
trustees on behalf of the public and each present proprietor;" to lay off the streets 
for which they should "receive no recompensation — but for the squares or lands THE 
in any form which shall be taken for public buildings or any kind of public im- FEDER- 
provements, ' ' they were to be paid at the rate of $66. 66 per acre. This very liberal AL CIT Y. 
conveyance was accepted by the Commissioners, Messrs. Johnson, Stuart and Car- 
roll, April 12, 1791. These same gentlemen notified the surveyor who was preparing a 
map of the region that after that date, September 9, 1791, the title would be "The City of 
"Washington in the Territory of Columbia. " The shrewd bargain which resulted in this way 
was undoubtedly the best ever made by the Father of his Country, who was noted for his busi- 



4 THE CAPITAL CITY. 

ness sagacity. By it the Government got 17 reservations of 541 acres for$36,000; and the 10,136 
building lots which fell to its share, ultimately proved to be worth over $850,000. 

The site, which is now covered by the National Capital after years of varying progress 
influenced by periods of govermeutal patronage and rapid growth and of two wars and the con- 
sequent stagnation, was for awhile known to the settlers before the Revolu- 
tionary times as Rome. Here flowed a turbulent little stream known usually THE CITY OF 
as Goose Creek, but, to the more aspiring of these early settlers, answering to WASH- 

the name of the Titer. Hence Moore's sarcastic lines INGTON. 

" And what was once Goose Creek is Tiber now." 

It was by way of this stream that, within the memory of some still living, fish and produce 
were brought to the spot where the Central Market now stands. An old series of surveyor's 
certificates now in the possession of the city authorities, set forth that on June 5, 1663, Francis 
Pope became possessed of 400 acres where now stands the Capitol. Capt. Robert Troop and 
William Langworth seem to have been his neighbors and it was among the>e that the name of 
i?ojne was first applied to the locality. In those days the stream now known as ^y^^ Qp 
Rock Creek was called the Anacostia, though on more recent maps it was the rpjj^j^ 
larger, Eastern Branch, which came to be known by that name. One of those Q^pj_ 
traditions, the origin of which the book- worm finds it impossible to unearth, sets tOL 

forth that this Francis Pope built his house on the present site of the Capitol, call- 
ing thg eminence on which it was situated Capit«line Hill, to still carry out the Roman like- 
ness. Be this truth or fiction, it is certain that this "Pope of Rome," as no doubt his neigh- 
bors called him, became the first owner under a regular survey of this now priceless land. 

After the long dispute, which euded in the selection of this site, all interests appear to 
have combined heartily to push forward the rapid upbuilding ot the Capital City. Washing- 
ton, accustomed to rely upon his own judgment in both architecture and landscape design, 
though undoubtedly the moving spirit whence came the broad general plan which has resulted 
in giving to the Nation the beautiful city of most generous proportions which we now have, 
seems from the first to have selected a young Frenchman who had served as a Captain of 
Engineers during the Revolutionary War, INIajor L'Enfant, as " better qualified than any one 
else who had come within his knowledge in this country, or indeed in any other," to prosecute 
this work of laying out a plan that would contemplate the utmost grandeur of uPBUILD- 
the future. * The plan then agreed upon, and which has been adhered to in a ^^^ ^^ THE 
degree very unusual in the history of rapidly growing cities, contemplated the CAPITAL 
Capitol to be built on the crest of the hill, as the center of the city. This oiTY 

plan has been compared to that of ancient Babylon, and has also been called 
"Philadelphia griddled across Versailles." From it all streets have been numbered or lettered 
in the four cardinal directions. And from the first it was claimed that "all roads lead to the 
Capitol," as the Washingtonian still delights to tell the visitor. So we now have to do with 
a city with a plan and street system that is remarkably simple and very convenient after the 
diagonal avenues are once fixed in the mind. From the Capitol run North Capitol street and 
South Capitol street directly towards the points of the compass indicated. East Capitol street 
consequently runs at an exact right angle to these and opposite to it the Mall, as the Public 
Gardens and Park are known, extends for over a mile to the West. Running due ^^ ^^ 
North and South and counting in a duplicate set both to the East and the West, are xiiD 
the numbered streets. Crossing these at right angles, and in duplicate sets also, grj,jjj>g.£, 
are the lettered streets, running East and West. This system naturally divides gysTEM. 
itself into four principal areas, the North-East, South-East, South- West and 
North- West. Its greatest drawback is in the duplication of street corners and numbers of the 
same denomination; that is, there will be four localities known as " 2nd and B streets " or 
"6th and G;" but, it is claimed, the addition of the initials of one of the four city areas, as 



THE CAPITAL CITY. 



"6th and G, N. W.," which becomes necessary by this system, adds more in the 
convenience of finding a given locality than it subtracts by reason of its some- 
what increased cumbersomeness. All highways in this system, which break in 
upon the general regularity of the plan by running at diagonals of varying 
angles are called "Avenues," and are always named after one of the States of 
the Union. Having fixed in his mind the four cardinal divisions of the city and their bounda- 



FOUR 
PRINCI- 
PAL 
AREAS. 




Thomas Cir«ie aucl Statue. 



ries, remembering that the numbered streets lead North and South and count both eastward 
and westward from the Capitol, and that the lettered streets simply reverse this proceeding and, 
leading East and West, are counted both northward and southward, the visitor, when he shall 
have fixed in his mind, by an inspection of the map, the principal avenues, is 
well equipped to find his way to any point of interest in the city proper. In 
fact, this would be all that would be necessary had the original plan been 
adhered to; unfortunately a considerable number of short streets, usually but 
one block long and generally named after noted personages, have been 
allowed to creep in to the city plan and complicate matters to that extent. A list of the prin- 
cipal of these, with their location indicated, will be found on another page. 

The history and growth of AYashington may be divided into five periods, viz: the first era, 



CARDINAL 

DIVISIONS 

OF THE 

CITY. 



6 THE CAPITAL CITY. 

that prior to the War of 1812, when it was generally known as the " Wilderness City"; the era of 
destruction and rapid upbuilding consequent on the British outrages of August, 
1814; the long period of stagnation and lethargy which seems to have continued GROWTH OF 
until just after the breaking out of the late war; the era when, under theguid- WASHING- 
ance of President Lincoln, the Nation presented the unprecedented sight of a TON. 

people engaged in a mighty conflict, also carrying on public improvements 
on a large scale; and finally that period since 1870, which mainly under the guidance of 
Governor, Shepherd has marked the life of that "new Washington" which has at last trans- 
formed the "Wilderness city" into the "city of magnificent distances," now the 'pride, the 
chiefest municipal ornament, and the Mecca of all loyal citizens of the Union. 

Of the first period we know but little beyond the dry details that are to be gleaned from 




South-West View from Capitol Dome. 
the Acts of Congress and the various reports made by the ever-changing heads of Departments. 
Washington, JeflTerson, Hamilton and others of that day were much occupied with the selection 
of suitable plans and designs for its principal buildings and in the choice of sites therefor. 
Majors L'Enfant and Ellicott in the general design, and Messrs. Hallett, Hadfield, Hoban, 
Latrobe and Dr. William Thornton, in architectural details, were those on whom 
the early planners most relied for finish and harmony. Of these seven gentlemen, THE 
six appear to have been foreign born, so little attention had then been paid to such FIRST 
callings among the pioneers and their descendants. During this era Virginia voted PERIOD 
f 120,000 and Maryland $72,000 in aid of public improvements and buildings in the 
District. Yet so much remained to be done when Congress moved to the city that Pennsyl- 
vania avenue was still but a morass; tne sidewalk bordering it, running from the Capitol to the 
Executive Mansion, was made ot pieces of wood and chips of stone from the buildings then 



THE CAPITAL CITY. 



under construction; the Capitol was surrounded by marshes in which cat-tail reeds and scrub 
oak were the only arboreal adornment; and the mosquitoes and green-headed flies beggared 
description. That portion of the history of this and the later periods which has to do with the 
several i^ublic buildings will be found in the pages where they are described. 

The second period was an eventful one for AVashington, during which the permanency 
of the site was threatened both by internal and foreign foes. Throughout all of the year 1813 
the British Fleet was in control of all the waterways leading to Washington, and attacks that 
were made by the United States troops along the Canadian boundary were repaid 
with heavy interest, by the enemy along the Chesapeake. For fully fifteen months THE 
before the actual invasion of the country surrounding Washington, the British had SECOND 
shown unmistakaMy that it was their intention to stop at no means to harass the PERIOD 
seat of Goyernment. Havre de Grace on the western, Frenchtown, Georgetown and 
Fredericktown on the eastern shore of Maryland, and Hampton, Va., had all been attacked, 




North-West View from Capitol Dome, 
pillaged and burned, and many inhabitants killed or wounded. The style of warfare carried 
on by the enemy was sufiicient to show that it waa only a question of time and opportunity 
w hen the Capital should be laid waste. It was of the bandit or bushwacking sort. Plundering 
and burning farm-houses, robbing defenceless women and children of the 
clothing on their backs, breaking open family vaults and desecrating the dead 
in search of jewelry and clothing, and far worse crimes, which must remain 
nameless, were among those deeds charged in American papers and reluc- 
tantly admitted in the better class of English journals. Though this state of 
afiairs had continued for some months, it was not until July 15, 1813, that General Philip 
Stuart, of Maryland, introduced a resolution into Congress, calling attention to the grave state 



THE 
CAPITAL 
THREAT- 
ENED. 



8 THE CAPITAL CITY. 

of aflairs and urging the necessity for immediate improvements in the defences and an increase 
in the available military force. This bill was referred to the Committee on Military Atiairs, 
who reported immediately and without any due deliberation, that they were "satisfied that the 
preparations [were] in every respect adequate to the emergence." It is known that this report 
was due to the influence of Secretary of War John Armstrong, of New York, who for over a 
year and up to the last moment laughed to scorn the idea that the British troops would attack 
the Federal District. In this opinion he had the concurrence of President Madison, who on 
July 20, 1813, stated in a message to Congress his opinion that the British only desired to con- 
trol and cripple American commerce. This vain reliance in either the chivalry or the cowanl- 
ice of the enemy — it is hard to say which — it was that accounted for the fact that at this time 
there was only one fortification, and that in name only, from the mouth of the Potomac to the 
city. That had only one brace of mounted guns and no men to serve more, had they been 
mounted. At the mouth of the Eastern Branch there was only an unprotected magazine, and 
from there to the Navy Yard not a gun; and the Yard itself was almost unprotected. With 
this defenceless water front the boundary line was in entire harmony. Throughout its whole 
extent there was not a single point fortified, not a redoubt, dike or ditch, not a single battalion 
of regulars, nor one company of militia or volunteers properly armed and disciplined. Such 
culpable, even criminal neglect, would be beyond the comprehension of readers cjij^yji^^^L 
to-day, was not the present condition of the city quite as hopeless and blamewor- ]sf eql j^cT 
thy, when the vast improvements made in modern warfare are considered. 

Not until a year later, on July 1, 1814, only six weeks before the city was captured, did 
the Administration begin to show any real signs of life. At a meeting of the Cabinet called 
"for purposes of consultation," a plan evidently devised by Secretary of State Monroe, was 
submitted. The Cabinet in this as in most questions then before it, was far from being a unit, 
but a compromise measure was finally agreed upon and the enlisting of "3000 combatants" was 
ordered. Soon after this the region was formed into " Military District, No. 10," under the 
command of General Winder, an officer of very limited experience and seemingly of still more 
limited knowledge and resource. As the situation became more grave, the nominal force was 
increased until General Winder was empowered to draft 93,000; but this movement came too 
late and he does not seem to have been able to place over 10,000 men in the field, if so many, 
when they were at last needed. These, composed almost entirely of newly levied, undisciplined 
militia or of recently enlisted regulars who had never been under fire, furnished an army of the 
rawest and crudest sort. To add to the difficulty of handling such troops they, in common with 
many of the citizens of Washington, seem to have been disaffected by a growing mistrust of 
the administration of Secretary Armsti-ong. He was very generally charged with unfriendli- 
ness to the District, with a desire to see the seat of Government moved to the North, and with 
showing no intention to raise a sufiicient force for the defence of the city. These beliefs aug- 
mented by direct charges of inefficiency, at last led to his resignation five days after the capture 
of the town. 

Perhaps no better illustration of the absolutely unguarded state of the District at this 
time can be found than the fact that on the arrival of Sir George Cockburn, Kear- 
Admiral in charge of the British Fleet, into the city he was recognized, by an ^^^trp' 

astonished landlady, as a gentleman who during previous weeks had been a qj, rprij,^ 
boarder at her house, residing there, no doubt, in the capacity of a spy. CITY. 

Finally, so serious had matters grown, Secretary Monroe volunteered to go 
to Benedict, on the banks of the Patuxent, accompanied by twenty-five or thirty'cavalrymen, 
for the purpose of reporting to the President on the force and equipment of the enemy who were 
reported to be landing at that point. The unique spectacle of a Secretary of State acting in the 
capacity of chief of such a party, combined with a realization of the serious disadvantages that 
would arise in case of his capture by the enemy, does not seem to have impressed the War 
Department, the head of which, even at this last moment, continued to deride the idea that 
"Washington was likely to be the destination of the Biitish troops. Monroe, however, seems to 



10 THE CAPITAL CITY. 

have been alive to his situation, for he was very careful to keep out of the way of the enemy, 

never venturing sufficiently near to obtain any information of any value 

until the day before the disastrous skirmish at Bladensburg, when he senta BATTLE OF 

dispatch to Madison advising him to be ready to burn all bridges and to BLADENS- 

remove the public records from the city at once. The most exaggerated BURGr» 

reports prevailed as to the enemies strength; though not exceeding 4,500 

available men, it was generally believed by the American forces to reach near 10,000. 

At a council of war held on the field but a few hours before the final engagement, at 
■which President Madison, Secretaries Monroe, Armstrong and Jones of the Navy, and General 
Winder were present, Mr. Monroe was requested to go to the troops and arrange the order of 
battle while the Secretary of War and the General Commanding stayed with the President and 
discussed the situation. At last the battle, if such it may be called, began, at about noon of 
August 14, just outside of Bladensburg, only six miles from Washington, On a good mail-road 
running between the Capital and Baltimore. The brief skirmish which resulted, during which 
a force of 1500 British troops experienced but little difliculty in crossing a narrow bridge in the 
face of three or four times their number of Americans placed there to defend it, has come down 
in history under the name of the "Bladensburg Races." And the expression that "the 
British rather had the best of it at first but we beat them in the long run," was for many years 
a byword in use by all concerned. Afterwards, when the inevitable committee of inquiry was 
appointed, the leaders, anxious to shift the responsibility from their own shoulders, were 
unanimous in denouncing the cowardice of the common soldiers. No doubt there was consid- 
erable cause for this; one company was seen by an American officer to discharge their guns once- 
and immediately take to their heels while the enemy were yet at a distance. On the other hand, 
it was afterwards evident that a general retreat was ordered before many of the forces on the 
American side had had any opportunity for engaging in the battle, though some of them 
showed great eagerness therefor. The loss of the native forces was but twenty-six killed and 
fifty-one wounded ; that of the British, owing to the exposed position they were at first obliged 
to occupy, fully six times as great. If ever Messrs. Gilbert and Sullivan shall desire to com- 
pose a comic opera with an American motif and locale, no better subject than that of the 
" Bladensburg Races " can be found. It was from beginning to end a farce, in which the 
proverbial many cooks most eflectually spoiled the broth. 

Not content with the complete defeat and scattering of the American forces, the British- 
could not rest until they had visited the vanquished city, and by torch 

and powder-train done all in their power to prove the unfitness of their BUILDINGS AND 
commanders to conduct a civilized campaign. The use made by Ad- ARCHIVES 
miral Cookburn and General Ross of their one day's occupation of the BURNED, 

city remains a lasting disgrace to their country. The fact that the 

former was denied promotion, which he otherwise would have received, and that the latter was 
soon afterward killed by an American bullet, doe.s not entirely wipe away the stain. Buildings- 
in no way connected with warfare, archives, libraries and objects of great historic value — 
not to the United States alone, but to all civilized countries — were ruthlessly put to the torch. 
So congenial was this work that Cockburn himself aided in carrying books into the street to 
feed the flames started by his command. Standing at the desk of the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, Cockburn called : "Attention ! Shall this harbor of Yankee Democracy be 
burned? All for it will say, Aye! Contrary opinion. No!" An affirmative shout was the 
signal for the spoliation to begin. The Capitol, not in the best of repair, it must be admitted, 
was fired wherever doors, sash, furniture and the building material in use for certain alterations 
could be made to ignite the structure, with the aid of the treasures of the Library of Congress 
and a large mass of valuable papers. This ended in the destruction of the dome, then made of 
wood, copper covered. After partaking of an impromptu lunch in the Executive Mansion, the 
invaders set fire to that building, which was soon reduced to a ruin of fire-blackened, marble 
walls. Then followed the destruction of the Treasury, State and War, Arsenal, and Navy Yard 



THE CAPITAL CITY. U 

buildings, and the " National Intelligencer" otfice, a few private residences, and the approaches 
to the Long Bridge. While a detachment was engaged in destroying the Navy Yard, a territfic 
explosion of a mine of powder and shell resulted in killing or fatally wounding nearly one 
hundred of the incendiaries. 

The etfects of this terrible blow to the aspirations of Washington and its people were not 
as disastrous as might have been expected, for with true American energy the citizens, impelled, 
no doubt, by the fear that an effort would now be made to have the Capitol removed, set to 
work at once to erect suitable temporary quarters for Congress and those departments that had 
been burned out. So promptly and well was this work done that in one hundred days a suitable 
building had been erected, which remained standing until after the late war. In it Calhoun 
died, Messrs. Lyman Trumbull, Wm. M. Evarts and Justice Field afterward had their resi- 
dences, and there, later, Wirz, of Audersonville notoriety was hung. If it seems that an undue 
prominence has been given to this second period in the city's existence, it may be. excused by 
the fact that so little attention has heretofore been given to the events of the War of 1812, as 
they afiected Washington, in works of this kind, and because they afford at this time an excel* 
lent text on which our present legislators, in charge of the city's defences, may well ponder. 

The third period in the city's history seems to have been one of stagnation, during 
which the ever-growing sectional hatreds so interfered with the general public good 
that Congress did but little for the city's improvement, save only such building THE 

enlargements or additions as the growth of the public business in the various depart- THIRD 
ments made absolutely necessary. During this period, under the Presidency of PERIOD. 
James K. Polk, in 184G, the City of Alexandria with the surrounding Virginia 
territory voted by an over two-thirds majority to leave the Federal District, and by special act 
of Congress they were allowed that privilege. 

During the fourth era, and soon after the commencement of the late war, President Lin- 
coln conceived the idea that in no way could the vast resources and the boundless 
energies of the nation be better brought to the attention of foreign powers, as well THE 
as more impressively shown to the malcontents at home, than by the fact of vast FOURTH 
improvements being in progress in the Capital City while the most expensive PERIOD, 
war — both in lives and money — that the world had ever seen was in full progress, 
and, at times, even within range of hearing. These war times saw $1,500,000 spent for 08 forts 
in a circuit of 37 miles, with 32 miles of excellent connecting roadways built. The Long Bridge 
was rebuilt, and the Railway Bridge built beside it ; the Aqueduct, which has cost over 
13,500,000, was steadily carried forward, sometimes within range of the Confederate tire; the dome 
of the Capitol was finished, the Statue of Liberty being saluted by all the forts as it was placed 
on the surmounting tolus ; work went rapidly forward on the Treasury Building; most of the 
work on the Post Office Building was done during that period, and the Patent Office was nearly 
finished. Many improvements of a minor nature were made, and property that had been aban- 
doned and offered at a mere song by owners in 1861 was found at the end of the war to have 
greatly increased in price. 

The great transformation of Washington, which has at last resulted in producing a city 
of which every citizen of the Union has reason to be proud, began with the almost magical 
appearance oflong stretches of concrete pavements, lined on each side with thf PTTV 

one, and frequently with two rowsof trees. About the time that these „,, . v^r,I7,,w.^nT■T^ 
improvements began, Congress passed an act, February 21, 18/1, constitut- 
ing the District of Columbia a territorial government under a governor to be appointed by the Pres- 
ident, and a legislative assembly. But two of these Governors served ; the second, Hon. Alex. 
B. Shepherd being the incumbent in September, 1873, when the Act of 1871 was amended by 
Congress and the temporary authority of the three Commissioners established. Mr. Shepherd 
early saw the great possibilities for improvement which the city afforded and it was largely due 
to his energy that much was accomplished in a short time. He has beeu well described as "of 
indomitable perseverance and more than ordinaiy executive ability; naturally a leader of men — 



12 



THE CAPITAL CITY. 




City Hall and the Lincoln Column. 

this man who brought many of the most rare and valuablequalificationsofsuwess to the office to 
which he held as the real dictator of the District Goverameat." This District Gominissiou was 
made permanent by the act of June 11, 1878. It consists of three members to be appointed by 
the President and confirmed by the Senate, one of whom shall be an officer of the Eui^ineer 
Corps of the Army, whose rank shall be above that of Captain. These appoint all subordinate 
city officials. The Engineer Commissioner has two assistants— one in charge of Highways, the 
other of Sewers — who are also chosen from the Engineer Corps. Congress pays one half of 
the ta.xes and the salaries of the Presidential appointees and the District all others. The 
finances of the District are managed by the Treasury Department. It was from the date of the 
abolishment of the old municipal form of government, under a mayor elected by the people, 
that Washington began to take on new life. Then began those engineering works and sanitary 
science departures from the old routine which have resulted so favorably. But a swampy 
plain, with the Capitol Hill only ninety feet and Observatory Hill only 
ninety-six feet above tide, while the Executive Mansion is but fifteen THE PRESENT 
feet above low water and parts of Pennsylvania avenue originally below MUNICIPAL 
high water, the problems presented were by no means simple. Now the GOVERNMENT, 
city has over 265 miles of streets, which are from eighty to one hundred 

and twenty feet wide. Go miles of Avenues from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and 
sixty feet wide ; and over 33 per cent, of its roadways are paved. Swept by machinery, 
with regularity and care, Washington is now without doubt the cleanest city in the Western 
World, and it may furthermore, with justice, lay claim to the credit of being the best 
governed municipality in the United States. 

The great and self-evident drawbacks of this system of municipal life are those which 
arise from the entire disfranchisement of all residents of the District. This "undemocratic, 
unfair and unscientific" form of government calls for a radical reform. Even in the choice of 
such non-political officials as the members ot the scliool boards Washingtonians are allowed no 
opportunity to assert their sovereignty. 

These wonderful strides in the city's growth have not been brought about without the 
expenditure of vast sums of money. During the first year of the advance, 1870, Congress 
appropriated but $1000, while in 1873 it was moved to vote $■1,000,000. But it has never doue 



THE CAPITAL CITY. 13 

its share in this good work; from 1790 to 1870 it expended but $5,000,000 on purely city im- 
provements and the greater part of that sum had been devoted to works surrounding its own 
public buildings; while during the same period the district spent over $20,000,000 in general 
improvements. Yet all reclaimed or made land becomes the property of the United States, an 
expenditure of$120,000 for filling up the old canal netted the handsome sum of $2,500,000 in 
city property. It is probable that in no way could an administration win greater popular 
favor, in these days when the people are tired of the constant din of party contentions than by 
bending its energies towards making the nation's city, architecturally and otherwise, the hand- 
somest Capital of the world. A "Surplus" could not be better used. 

Speaking of this metamorphosis, an English writer, Prof. Goldwiu Smith, says: "In 
the course of twenty years a wonderful change has come over the city on the Potomac. * * * 
The capital is becoming a favorite place of residence for people unconnected with politics or 
the administration, and a corresponding change has taken place in its outward appearance. It 
is blossoming out into a gay and most beautiful city." On the same 
theme John Addison Porter describes itasblessed "with a streetareamore THE CITY 

than double that of Paris ; with sewers that rival the Cloaca Maxima of^ DEVELOPE- 
Rome; with an unusually fine water power ; a superabundant supply of MENT. 

pure drinking water conveyed to it over a gigantic aqueduct which has 

been considered one of the marvels of mechanical genius; adorned at intervals with works of 
art which serve to inspire American patriotism and pride ; with architecture which is unap- 
proached in this country for grace and variety ; with rapidly growing museums , scientific 
bureaus, and schools of literature and art ; the favorite and increasing centre for all sorts of 
conferences and reunions, scientific, professional and social; the natural resting place for retired 
government officers, especially of the army and navy ; the best workshop for literary men in 
nearly all branches of their profession ; relying for its growth on neither commerce nor 
manufactures, but holding out the inducements, to persons of limited means, of an unsurpassed 
environment and a salubrious climate, cheap and beautiful markets, fair rents and taxes, and 
a learned and cultured society." Continuing in this line of thought many pages might well 
be written of the novel delights of the "Washington Season." The collection of the Legisla- 
tive element from all parts of the Union; the presence of the Diplomatic Corps, representing 
all civilized and many semi-civilized countries ; the contingent of the Army and Navy which 
is then always present ; and the addition of the thousands of sight-seers and members of the 
elite of cities who regularly make their annual pilgrimage here to join in the pageantries of 
officialdom ; these and other elements combine to make the "Season" in Washington sui 
generis. 




State, Executive, and Treasin-y BuUdintis I'li'iii .Moiiuiaeiit Hill. 





Interior of Rutuiula. 



HERE are three centres of interest in Washington — centres 
in its geography, and in the imaginations of those yet to see 
it. They are the Capitol, the White House and the Monu- 
ment. Inspiring as is the superior height of the Monument, 
the massive walls and graceful dome on Capitol Hill are 
ever the first point of interest towards which the visitor 
turns his face. By one of those unlooked-for freaks in 
growth development, the Capitol now finds itself in the 
position of the Irishman's shanty which had its frontdoor 
in the rear. This is all the more remarkable when it is re- 
membered that this Nation of the Western World, with the 
great West to look towards for it main growth and with every 
reason to turn its back on the " efiete monarchies of the East," 
having just thrown off an Eastern yoke, faced 
its greatest civic structure against the tide of Empire. Now the visitor, in THE CITY IS 
most cases, approaches what, without thought, he takes to be the front of the BACK OP 
building, asitlooksdownthebroadexpanseofPennsylvauia Avenue over the THE CAPITOL 
city. What is then his surprise after approaching this western side, by way 
of massive flights of stairs and through beautiful lawns, to find himself entering the building 
through a narrow back door, for such it is, and to be told that it is its back that the building 
turns on the Executive Mansion and all the magnificence of the regal city below. It is to be 
hoped that when the treasures of the Congressional Library are at last moved to the building now 
being erected for them, the Architect will have ready and Congress will generously support 
designs whereby this approach can be given an appearance of grandeur commensurate with its 
outlook. 

The grounds surrounding the Capitol contain over 55 acres and have been laid out after 
designs by Frederick Law Olmstead, of New York. They are filled with beautiful vistas of rare 
foliage effects and carefully kept lawns, and their charms are so entrancing at points, where a 
commanding viewot the great building may be had, that it is to be regretted that the authori ties 
are unwilling to accommodate the crowds of visitors by placing seats along the shaded walks. 
Along the northwest approach to the building there has been placed a brick summer house, ivy 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



15 



COTered, where a drinking fountain, the music of a falling stream in a rockj' grotto and the shade 
I of the embowering trees entice the passer-by on a hot day. In the south- 
1 , r^r-:fiatsi portion of the grounds stands the stone tower from the top of which the CAPITOL 
supply of pure air is carried, by means of a tunnel, to the Hall of Representa- GROUNDS, 
tives; and near the grotto stands that for the ventilation of the Senate Chamber. 
At the west front of the building stands a statue of Marshall r ad opposite it on the east front 
one of Washington ; these will be iound fully described in le section devoted to the outdoor 
statuary throughout the city. On close approach to the Capital it will be observed that the old 
or central building is not of the blue- veined white marble from Lee, Mass., of which the wings 
are built. It is of a yellowish sandstone, which needs frequent painting to keep it in apresent- 
able crmditiou, and which was selected as a building material in 1791, on account of its prox- 



4 









The National Capitol. —West Front. 
imity to the town and its consequent cheapness. The columns of the extensions are monolithic 
and are of Maryland marble. 

From the first the Commissioners of the District agreed upon what had been for over a 
century known as "Capitoline Hill" as the site for the Capitol, commanding an extended view 
of the surrounding country and near what it was then expected would be the centre of the city. 
The first advertisement for designs called for a brick building which should contain two assem- 
bly rooms capable of accommodating three hundred persons each, a lobby, and twelve rooms, ot 
not less than six hundred square feet each, for committees. The present structure contains one 
hundred and eighteen rooms, instead of fifteen, with an area of over seventy-one thousand 
superficial feet; it is built chiefly of iron and marble, with one hundred and thirty-four massive 
Corinthian columns, one hundred of which are monoliths; the two halls have a combined seat- 



16 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



ing capacity of two thousand four hundred, with standing room for at least two thousand more; 
it covers 153,112 square feet of ground, or over three and one-half acres, being seven hundred 
and fifty-one feet and four inches long, and three hundred and twenty-four feet in greatest 
breadth, and having cost somewhat over 115,000,000. 

The changes which have led up from the modest ideas of 1791 to the present grandeur 
have been gradual. The building, which a prominent architectural critic 
has pronounced "one of the most impressive and imposing civic edifices now ARCHITECTS 
existing," has been the slow growth of years and the creation of many minds. OF 

First among these, in point of time, stand Dr. \Vm. Thornton, a native of THECA.PITOL. 
the British West Indies, and for eight years one of the Commissioners of the 
District, and Stephen Hallet, a French architect, both then being residents of Philadelphia. 




Brumicli's Cauupy.— The Apotheosis of Washington 
The plans submitted by thf.e tfcnticMiii:'!! were so equal in excellence and so strani^eiy similar 
that the Commissioners avvarded the full prize ofl'ered, $500 and a city lot, tc each ol them. Dr. 
Thornton not being professionally active, Mr. Hallet w;is appointid architect, August, 1792, 
under James Hobaii, a native of Ireland and resident of Charleston, S C, who was made 
Superintendent of Public Buildings. 

The corner-stone of the original building, beneath the }>resent law library in the base- 
ment, was laid September IS, 179.5, with suitable and impressive Masonic ceremonies, by Mas- 
ter Mason George Washington, President of the United States. Unfortunately, owing to the 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



17 





prevalence of yellow-fever in Philadelphia, these ceremonies were not reported. Failing to 
agree with Hoban, Hallet was dismissed in June, 1794, and the former took entire charge of 
the work. In 1795 George Hadfield, an Englishman, was appointed architect and so continued 
until 1798 when he, too, became a victim of Hoban's rule. The north, or Senate wing of the 
old building was first made ready for occupation, and on November 17, 1800, Congress first 
assembled there. Hoban seems to have been again in entire control until 1803, when Benjamin 
H. Latrobe, an Englishman by birth, resident of Philadelphia, was appointed. Mr. Latrobe 
appears to have been the first of this series who was really fitted to cope with th.- <lifticulties of 
his task and to him principally we are indebted for 
the central portion of the building with the excep- 
tion of the dome. The many designs submitted from 
the first, most of them beneath criticism but never- 
theless of great interest, came into his hands and 
were some years ago presented to the Patent Office 
by his sons. He began the construction of the ohl 
South Wing in 1803 and finished it in 1811, when 
the House moved into it. Part of the time prior to 
this they had occupied 
a temporary brick struc 
ture often called "the 
oven," which stood 
about where they now 
meet in the South 
Wing. Latrobe then 
turned his attention 

to connecting this ^^_^ ^^^/j i ^■^^^^^^-dw 

^^^ -^™-'( I '^^B^^^^^^BiMM pj.e>,j(ient"'. Room— Senate 

newer portion with the 
North Wing, which had 
been finished under his 
predecessors, by erecting 
the rotunda, library hall 
and eastern portico. The 
material principally used 
for this portion was a 
yellowish sandstone 
taken from an island in Acquia Creek, Virginia, 
which the Government purchased in 1791 for |6,000. 
This part now has frequently to be painted white to 
match its surroundings. This work progressed slowly 
until the breaking out of the war with England in 
1S13, when operations were suspended. In 1815, on 
the proclamation of peace, Latrobe returned from 
Pittsburgh, where he had been engaged in building 
Senate Reception Room. steamboats in connection with Robert Fulton. The 

British had, as already mentioned, spent a night in setting fire with the aid «[ th^i™ 
to every combustible object in the building, the treasures of he Congressional Library and 
many valuable and irreplaceable records. Latrobe describes the appearance of the Capitol as 
"perfectly terrifying. ' ' Fire had consumed all the wood work save in a few unimportant rooms; 
but the dome and the Supreme Court room had suffered the most. Into some of the sandstone 
columns the "fire had eaten so that a few inches only of contact was left." These were repla ed 
by columns of a coarse "marble," which Latrobe discovered on the upper Potomac and which 



18 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



were brought down on flat boats. As it was unfit for fine carving, being in fact a sort of 
breccia, the caps and bases were made of white Italian marble. In the reconstructed build- 
ing the House occupied what is now known as "Statuary Hall," for nearly thirty years. 

Through Latrobe's desire to give as much of a distinctively national character to the 
adornments as possible, there was evolved under the chisel of Guiseppe Franzoni, a form of 
column so airy and happy in conception as to be deemed worthy to be called the American 
order. An example of it is to be seen in the vestibule of the law library in the basement. The 
shaft is composed of Indian corn, springing from a circlet of the lance shaped leaves resting on 
a double moulded base, and winding spirally upwards. The capital is made of the ears with 




The Senate Chamber. 

the husks sufficiently open to show the grains, and the intermediate spaces are filled with the 
tassels bending over. Another and almost equally pleasing column may 
be seen at the vestibule of the Supreme Court, on the floor just above, where DISTINCTIVE 
tobacco leaves and flowers are used with good efiect. Cotton leaves and bolls NATIONAL 
were also used in this way; the original design of the "Corn Cob Column," DESIGNS. 
as it was alliteratively called, was presented to Thomas Jefterson and 
used by him as a shaft for a sundial. To Latrobe also belongs the credit of designing the clock 
in the Hall of Statuary, known as "History in the Car of Time." This work is usually attri- 
buted to Carlo Franzoni, to whom Latrobe entrusted the sculpture. In 1817 Latrobe resigned 
his position on account of his disinclination to cope with the harassing treatment of the Com- 
missioner of Public Works, a man entirely ignorant of architecture, appointed by President 
Monroe. 

In Latrobe's place Charles Bulfinch, a native and resident of Boston, was appointed ; he 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



19 



had the honor of being the first American to be entrusted with this important work. "Where 
now stand the Rotunda and Dome with their adjacent fronts there was at tliat time simply the 
massot earth, rubbish and old foundations that resulted from British incendiarism. The found- 
ations for this part of the new work were laid March 2, 1818. To Bulfinch is due the credit of 
remedying to a great extent the glaring defect that arose from originally placing the Capitol too 
far over the western brow of the hill, and which caused the building to have one more story on 
that side. Under Bulfinch the central building, as it now is, with the exception of the 
approaches and the much higher dome, was finished in 1830. Then for twenty-one years the 
building stood unaltered and witliout an architect. 




The House of Representatives. 

On September 30, 1850, Congress provided for the enlargement of the Capitol, and on 
June 6, 1851, a second Latrobe, Thomas U. Walter, a natiye Philadelphian and there resident, 
was appointed to act as the architect of the contemplated extensions, his plans for which had 
been accepted. The corner-stone of this enlarged building was laid by President Fillmore, July 
4, 1851, Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State, delivering the oration. December 21, 1851 
the west front of the Center Building, was destroyed by a fire which also consumed over 
35,000 volumes in the Congressional Library, besides a valuable lot of coins, manuscripts, etc. 
In the following June the present library rooms were begun and were built on a thoroughly 
fire-proof plan. On December Ifi, 1857, the House of Representatives fir.st met in the new hall 
at the southern extremity of the extended building; and on January 4, 1859, the Senate was 
first called together in its new abode at the north end. In 18(31 Congress ordered the discon- 
tinuance of the improvements on account of the Civil War, but so great was the patriotism and 



20 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



COMPLETION 

OF THE 

CAPITOL. 



po 



ssession 



of 



confidence in the stability of the Government that President Lincoln succeeded fn awakening- 
in the contractors that the sound of the hammer was never stilled during all 
those dark days, and the Statue of Liberty was finally placed on top of the 
completed dome at noon on December 2, 1863. As the top section — the 
head and shoulders of the statue — was put in place, a tlag was waved from 
the dome and immediately a field-battery in the Capitol grounds replied 
with a National salute of ihirty-tive guns. This was replied to in turn by the sixty-eight forts 
which then guarded the District. In 
1865 Mr. Walter's work was completed 

and he resigned ; his place was filled y^ Columbus 

by the appointment of Edward Clark, 
who still holds the position after twenty- 
six years. 

It will be seen from the foregoing / / Columbus 

that to seven architects or designers are / / takinf: 

we indebted for a building which, 
while it has without doubt awakened 
some adverse criticism, now stands ac- 
cepted by the vast concensus of public 
opinion as a worthy exponent of our 
national lite. Of these seven, four 
came from the Quaker City; and to two 
of these, who had charge of the work 
for a period of fourteen years each, is 
the credit mainly due for producing 
the perfect whole. Of it Prof. Gold- 
win Smith has spoken as "a most ma- 
jestic and imposing pile." With no 
desire to praise anything Ameiican, 
Mrs. Trollope was moved by it to utter 
many words of praise and admiration. 
Harriet Prescott Spotford, in apology 
for its somewhat mixed style of archi- 
tecture has well said: "It is not ex- 
actly unsuitable that a nationality so 
mixed as ours, so far from being settled 
in one type, should be represented in 
architecture by a mass comprehending 
almost every order under the sun." 
These are but stray expressions gleaned 
from among many such. If the reader 
wishes to realize how just such praise 
is, and yet how far all 
words will fall short of CRITICISM 
the truth, let him, on OF THE 
some bright moonlight CAPITOL. 
night, stand and gaze 
upon its eastern front from a dis- 
tance of not less than one hundred and fifty yards. Its stupendous grandeur 
of the national wealth; its awe-inspiring repose is a symbol of that national quiet which all good 
citizens pray for ; reaching far to North and South it typifies the bond which now binds 
all sections together in a common brotherhood ; and its Statute of Liberty uplifted high 



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Plan of Roger'' s Bronze Door. 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



21 



above all towards Heaven, is a reassurance to all men that here is a soil freed from tyianny. 
Esto perpetua ' But, in the words of Webster engrossed upon the scroll placed iu the second 
corner-stone, July 4, 1851 : " If, therefore, it shall hereafter be the will of God that this struc- 
ture shall fall from its base, that its foundations be upturned and this deposit brought to the 
eyes of men, be it known, that on this day the Union of the United States of America stands 
firm ; that their Constitution still exists unimpaired and with its original usefulness and glory 
growing every day stronger and stronger in the affections of the great body of the American 

people, and attracting more and more 
the admiration of the world. And all 
here assembled, whether belonging to 
public life or to private life, with 
hearts devoutly thankful to Almighty 
God for the preservation of the Liberty 
and happiness of the country, unite in 
sincere and fervent prayers that this 
deposit and the walls and arches, the 
domes and towers, the columns and en- 
tablatures now to be erected over it, 
may endure forever. God save the 
UxiTED States of America." 

If in the street car or a carriage, the 
visitor will do well to enter the Capitol 
grounds from the east central ap- 
|iroach. If on foot, coming by way 
if "the Avenue," as Pennsylvania 
Avenue is usually called, it will be 
iiest for him to either walk around the 
ii|)per terrace by the southern end of 
I he building to the east central por- 
tico, or else to go 
directly through 
the building, on the 
basement level, to 
the same point, and 

thus in either case to first enter the 
rotunda from the portico that has been 
designed to be the main entrance. This 
is the scene of the immense inaugural 
gatherings which every four years act 
as a loadstone to so many patriotic 
citizens from all parts of our broad 
laud. On this portico, which is one 
hundred and sixty feet long, with 
twenty-four pillars and twelve pilas- 
ters upholding a pediment of eighty 
feet span, the President takes the oath 
of office, surrounded by Congress, the 
Supreme Court, and such officials and 
their friends as can gain admission, in the presence of the assembled thousands who are 
crowded together on the stone plaza beneath, where 150,000 persons can stand and witness 
the impressive ceremonies. 

At the top of the flight of steps are two semi-colossal groups, that to the South represent- 




APPROACHES 

TO 
THE CAPITOL. 



Roger's Bronze Door. 



22 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 




V>**, 



^ *^ • 



Columbus Before the Couucll. 



ing the Discovery, that to the North the Settlement of America. The former, by Signer 
Persico, contains the figure of Columbus holding aloft the globe, which his voyages made 
complete, much to the terror of a crouching Indian maiden, whose mingled awe, wonder and 
admiration, it must be admitted, have caused her to forget the possibilities of anatomy and 
assume an attitude on which the sculptor could have easily obtained a patent for its novelty. 
_ _ A suit of armor which was worn by Columbus, and 

now at Genoa, is reproduced, it is said, even to 
every rivet. The group on the Xorth side is by 
rr" Iforatio Greenough ; it consists of a pioneer settler 
" , "verpowering an Indian warrior arrested in the at- 
^^^M timptto kill a white mother and her 
^ babe, who crouch at his feet. A dog EXTERIOR 
at one side is probably at once the STATUARY. 
pjVl most interesting and unique feature 
ft^Tjl "^ the group, as with most uncanine instincts he 
fc^ I I I (isely watches the struggle without coming to his 
r JtiA '"dster's rescue and without indicating to which side 
-owM*, he owes allegiance. These groups cost $24,000 each. 
v/^' On the tympanum of the portico — the face of the 
■*»?-i gable — there is an allegorical group in basso-rilievo 
~^ 1 i^presenting the Genius of America, accompanied by 
tlie Eagle, shield and spear, calling the attention of 
Hope, with her traditional anchor, to the figure of 
Justice, who, looking upon her scales with unban- 
daged eyes and holding the Scroll of the Constitution 
is indicated as the main reliance on which republican institutions rest. This is said to have 
been designed by John Quincy Adams. It was executed by Persico, and is creditable, con- 
sidering the extreme softness of the sandstone in 
which it is cut. It cost $1,500. 

On either side of the main entrance in deep 
niches are two heroic statues, also the work of 
Persico, costing $6,000 each. On the North stands 
War, in Roman costume, with sword and shield. 
On the South stands Peace, in a flowing Greek 
robe, with a fruit-bearing olive branch in her ex- 
tended hand. Over the door a basso rilievo, by 
Signor Capellano, represents Washington crowned 
by Fame and Peace. 

From these somewhat amateurish works of art 
the sight-seer turns with relief to the main entrance 
to the Rotunda, to the famous Rogers' Bronze 
Door. This unrivalled work of art is seventeen 
feet high, over all, and nine feet wide. It is 
made of the finest bronze, with two valves which 
fold back into recesses in the casing, when open. 
Over it is a semi-circular panel, and surrounding 
all a massive casing. It was designed in 1858 
by Randolph Rogers, an American artist, while resident in Rome, and was cast in 1861 by F. 
von Muller, of Munich. It weighs 20,000 pounds, and cost the government $8,000 for the 
models, $17,000 for the casting and metal, and the freight, storage, erection, etc., finally swelled 
the sum to $30,000, or $1.50 per pound. The designs treat entirely of that portion of the life 
of Christopher Columbus which was given to the discovery of the New World, and with repre- 



,T r-(^. ^( 




Columljus at La Kablda. 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



23 



THE KOGERS' 
BRONZE DOOR. 




sentations of those whose names are connected therewith in history. The style of art is known 

OB alto rilievo — the figures projecting almost entirely from the surface; 

and its quality is universally pronounced as of the very highest order. 

An examination of our picture of the door itself and of the separate panels 

will afford a key to the interesting story that the door tells. The follow- 
ing brief account will add some details to this; the 

numbers here placed in brackets refer to those of 

the separate panels. To read the door in chrono- 
logical order it is necessary to begin at the bottom 

left-hand panel. Here (1) Columbus is under- 
going an examination before the Council of Sala- 

manaca, who after long delays decide "the project 

vain and impossible" and unbecoming to great 

princes of both Church and State. Later, cast 

down and weary, Columbus sought food and shelter 

from Juan Perez de Marchena (10), M'ho became 

his fast friend. While here he also won the 

friendship of Martin Alonzo Pinzon (22), who 

afterwards commanded the "Pinta" on the first 

voyage to America, and who was also the first to 

see land October 12, 1492. From the Convent of 

La Rabida, of which Perez was prior, Columbus 

is here (2) seen setting forth, accompanied by his 

young son, Diego, on his way to the Royal Court. , „Umibu^ at the Court. 

Through the influence of Perez, with Lady Beatriz 

de Bobadilla, Marchioness de Moya, (18) Columbus was granted 20,000 maravedis (about 

$215) to enable him to present a suitable apjjearance when at last he reached (3) the Court of 

Ferdinand (17) and Isabella (IC), King and Queen 
of Spain. Having through the influence of the latter, 
and largely owing to the interest shown by Pedro 
Gonzales de Mendoza (14), Archbishop of Toledo 
and Cardinal of Spain, and Alexander IV (15), the 
Roman Pontiff secured the necessary funds for his 
first voyage of Discovery, Columbus set sail (4) 
August 3, 1492, from Palos after leaving his little 
son, Fernando, in the charge of the friars there. On 
the semi-circular panel at the top (5) Columbus is 
shown in the act of taking possession of the Island of 
San Salvador (now Watling's Island, in the Baha- 
mas) in the name of Spain and the Church of Rome. 
From the first Columbus endeavored to hold in check 
the lawless spirits who made up the crews of his 
little fleet, but always with but slight success. The 
panel which illustrates the first encounter between 
the Spaniards and the Arrowack natives (6) shows 
Columbus sternly reproving a sailor for the capture 
of a girl. Returning to Spain, March 1493, with the 

glory of the greatest discovery in the World's history upon him, Columbus was given(7)amost 
triumphal entry into Barcelona. After other and larger expeditions had gone out under his 
charge, being unable to control the unbridled licentiousness and thirst of blood that his 
followers universally showed, he was formally charged with being responsible therefor, and 
Don Francisco de Bobadilla was sent out, in 1500, to the New World to make investigation. 




Starting on First Voyage. 



24 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 







Encouuter with IS atives. 



He, utterly unfitted for this important mission, found Columbus guilty and condemned him to 
be sent home in chains (8). Never fully recovering his spirits after this act, which he called 
"the Gratitude of Princes," Columbus in vain tried to obtain from Ferdinand relief from the 
poverty and shame which weighed him down. At last in 1506, at the age of seventy, we see 
him C9) on his death-bed at Yalladolid, having received the last sacrament, just as he is utter- 
ing his last words: "In manus tuas, Domine, 
commendo spiritum meum " — "Into thy hands, 
O Lord, I commend my soul." The justice that 
he sought came too late, and he was given a mag- 
nificent funeral from the Church of Santa Maiia 
de la Antigua and was buried with great pomp in 
the Convent of San Francisco, Yalladolid. In 
1513 his body was removed to the Monastery of 
Las Cuevas, at Seville, and in 1536 to the Island 
of Santo Domingo (his "Hispaniola") from which 
it was removed in 1796 to Havana, Cuba, where 
it now rests in the Cathedral. 

On the styles of the door — the uprights of the 
valves — sixteen statuettes stand in deep niches, 
representing contemporaries of Columbus who 
were closely connected with his work. Of these 
Perez (10), Mendoza (14), Alexander (15), 
Ferdinand (17), Isabella (16), Lady Boba- 
dilla (18), and Pinzon (22) have been already 
introduced above. The remaining figures are 
(11) Hernando Cortez, the famous conqueror of Mexico, (12) Alouzo de Ojeda, at first a 
companion afterwards a traitor to Columbus, (13) Amerigo Vespucci, the discoverer from 
whose first name -vve get that of our continent, (19) 
Charles VIII of France, (20) Henry VII, of Eng- 
land, who received kindly the brother, Bartholomew 
Columbus, (23) and was disposed to aid in the dis- 
coveries, (21) John 11, of Portugal who in 1484 
spurned the chance, which Ferdinand afterwards 
availed himself of, to become Monarch of the New 
World, (24) Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the first 
European to cross the New World, at Panama, and 
gaze upon the Western Pacific, and last (25) Fran- 
cisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru whose remains 
may yet be seen in the Cathedral at Lima. Inter- 
mediate, on the cross-bars of the the valves, there 
are small busts which Mr. Walter, the architect of 
the Capitol from 1851 to 1865, has said were intended 
by Rogers for those of the historians who wrote 
of the discoveries of Columbus, "from his own 
time down to the present day, ending with Irving, 
(33) and Prescott" (32). Unfortunately, neither 
from the artist's correspondence nor in any other 
way can the desired information be obtained regarding the others. The two heads at the top are 
those of females and the two at the bottom those of native American chiefs. It takes but a 
slight stretch of imagination — if I may be permitted so to indulge myself — to see in the two 
upper heads those of the wives of Columbus, Felipa, the mother of his son Diego, and 
Beatriz, the mother of Fernando. The two heads at the bottom are probably those of 




Eutiy into Barcelona. 



TTIE NATION'S PALACE. 



25 



^^.<fe.. 




Cc lumlius ill Cliaiiis. 



Montezuma, the last Aztec ruler of Mexico (34), and Atahualpa, the last luca ruler of Peru, 
(35) whose subjection by Cortez and T'izarro was the greatest triumph in the Spanish conquests 
which Columbus, by his discoveries, made possible. The four remaining heads I would suggest 
may with propriety be referred to the following liistorians: Adrcs Bernaldcz (30), historian 
and ecclesiastic; Antonio Herarra y Tordesillas (28), historian and scliolar; Fernando 
Columbus (31), historian, soldier, and j-ouugest 
son of the discoverer ; and Gonzalo Fernandes de 
Oviedo y Valdes (29), historian and cosmographer. 
These conclusions are largely based on long and 
painstaking search in the Library of Congress and 
a close comparison of tliese busts with existing )ior- 
traits in all but three cases, where ajjparently none 
exist, as well as the harmonizing of the head dress, 
varying in each case, with the characters or occu- 
pations ascribed to them as given in history. 

Around the casing of tlie door there is a running 
border emblematic of conquest and navigation, 
in which statues of Asia (36), Africa (37), Europ: 
(38), and America (39), the quartette made com- 
plete by Columbus, are prominent; and over it all, at 
the crown of the arch, the calm, resolute face, of 
Columbus looks out with the earnest expression of 
the mariner looking for the long expected land. 
So artistic is every detail connected with this pano- 
rama of the life of Columbus that the visitor can 
not give too mucli attention to it. The artist seems to have left no device untried by whicli 
likenesses could be obtained of the many historical personages represented. In the cases of 

Bartholomew Columbus and Lady Bobadilla, 
however, no clue to their appearance could be ob- 
tained and, as adding a certain spice of interest, 
he has reproduced his own and his wife's counte- 
nances in these cases. 

Passing through the Bronze Door the visitor 
tinds himself standing in the imposing and ornate 
Kotuuda, which, in shape like the interior of half 
of an eggshell, is ninety-seven feet iu diameter, 
three hundred feet in circumference and one hun- 
dred and eighty feet 3 inches from the floor to the 
crown of the decorated canopy. 
In this central hall the eight his- THE 

torical paintings ranged around ROTUNDA. 
the circle first attract the eye. 
Under each of these will be found an engraved fac- 
simile witii the figures numbered and a full list of 
the personages and characters represented. Kefer- 
ring the reader to these aids for details it is only 
Deatli of Columbus. necessary here to say that they should be examined 

in the following chronological order. First, to the north of the main entrance is "The 
Landing of Columbus" at San Salvador, October 12, 1492 (John Vanderlyn, §12,000): to the 
south of the entrance, " De Soto's Discovery of the Mississippi," Jlay, 1541 (Wm. H. Powell, 
$15,000); next to this "The Baptism of Pochahontas," 1(J13 (John Gadsby Chapman, $10,000); 
to the north side again, next to the first picture, is " The Embarkation of the I'ilgrim Fathers " 




36 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 




Columbus' First Lauding. 

from Delft-Haven, Holland, July 21, l(i20 (Robert Walter Wier, $10,000); and the four 
pictures by Col. John Trumbull, portraying "The Signing of the Declaration 
of Independence," July 4, 177(5, "The Surrender of Burgoyne," October 17, THE 

1777, "The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis," Yorktown, October 19, 1871, and HISTORIC 
"The Resignation ot Gen. Washington," Annapolis, December 23, 1783. To PAINTINGS. 
see these in order begin at the south door. Col. Trumbull, the son of Jonathan 
Trumbull, Revolutionary Governor of Connecticut, was for a time an aide-de-camp to Wash- 
ington; from 1817 to 1824 he gave his entire attention to these four pictures, which in nearly 
«very case contain actual portraits painted either from life or from other pictures of the time; 
for them he received $32,000. Over the four doors leading from the Rotunda are rude alto 
rilievos; to the east, "Landing of the Pilgrims," 1620, by Caucici; the west, " Pochahontas 
Saving John Smith," 1606, Capellano; north, " Penu's Treaty with Indians," 1686, Gavelot; 
south, "Daniel Boone," 1775, Caucici; the total cost is said to have been $14,000. Over the 
paintings are eight panels with arabesque baso-rilievos, in four of which are 
medallion heads of Columbus, Cabot, Raleigh and La Salle, said to have THE ALTO 
cost $9,500. RILIEVOS. 

Above the architrave, three hundred feet long and nine feet high, is a 
sunken ribbon of fresco decorations in chiaro-oscuro, to imitate a series of alto rilievos, depict- 
ing events in American History. To read these it is necessary to begin over the western door 
where the Genius of America, with spear and shield, accompanied by the Eagle and the Indian, 
watches the Genius of History sketching the events of the past four centuries, which follow 
each other around the circle. These are: "The Landing of Columbus," 1492; " Cortez and 
Montezuma," Mexico, 1521; " Pizarro Conquering Peru," 1633; "Burial of De Soto in the 
Mississippi," 1541; "Saving of John Smith by Ppchahontas, " 1606; "Landing of Pilgrim 
Fathers," 1620; "Penn's Treaty with Indians, " 1686; "The Industrial Colonization of New 
England;" " Gen. Oglethorpe, the founder ot Georgia, and the Muskogee Chief," 
Georgia, 1732; "The Battle of Lexington," 1775; " Declaration of Independence," THE 

1776; "Surrender of Cornwallis," 1781; " Death of Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief, FRESCOES 
defeated at Tippecanoe and killed in Canada," 1813; "Gen. Scott entering City 
•of Mexico," 1847; "Discovery of Gold," California, 1848; "Completion of the Pacific Rail- 
road," 1869; and "First Centennial of Independence," Philadelphia, 1876. This work was 
begun by Brumidi and carried through to the portion representing the " Colonization of New 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



27 



England;" from that point, after his death, the work was taken up by Filippo Costaggiui; the 
last two decorations are not yet finished. The estimated cost is $10,000. 

Crowning the dome is the canopy, a circular, concave surface, on which Bruraidi has 
painted an allegorical study entitled " The Apotheosis of Washington "—repre- 
senting his enrollment among the immortals. It is sixty-ti ve and one-half feet in THE 
diameter, is nearly one-ninth of an acre in expanse, or larger than the average CANOPY, 
city building lot, and cost over $50,000, $39,500 being paid to the artists alone. 
Washington is represented sitting in majesty with Liberty on his right and Victory on his left. 
Thirteen maidens, in a semicircle before him, represent the original States, and support a ribbon 
inscribed " E Pluribus Unum." Around this group are arranged six others which, beginning 
with the western side, represent War, Agriculture, Mechanics, Commerce, Marine, and the 
Arts and Sciences. For reasons that will be obvious to most observers, no comment is here 
made on the style or quality of art which is displayed in this and the other decorations of the 
Botunda. Having spent somewhat over $150,000 on these decorations, the American Congress 




New Congressional Library BuiUUiig. 
DOW rests on the laurels it has earned as a Committee on Art; and it little becomes an humble 
citizen to call attention to the fact that De Soto was dying on a litter when he discovered the 
Mississippi, and was not mounted on a spirited charger as portrayed, or further, to quote Har- 
riet Prescott Spofford, that "a bar-maid with a soda-water bottle pretending to be Electricity 
and a Leyden jar," hardly meets the requirements of modern art." 

If the visitor to the Capitol is just starting out on a day's tour of inspection it will be 
well to mount at once from the Rotunda up the winding and rather complicated 
series of stairways that lead to the top of the Dome; especially is this the case as THE TOP 
the trip will be found much more fatiguing after some hours have been given to OF THE 
an examination of the rest of the building. The morning, with the sun at one's DOME, 
back, is also a much better time to obtain the best of this view. After a con- 
siderable climb, starting up the spiral stair-case j ust to the north-west of the Rotunda, passing 
points where a view of the Rotunda below can be had, a landing is reached which leads out on 
to the promenade around the top of the verticle portion of the dome. Here a fine view can be 



28 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



had, but it is not quite so fine as that at the base of the tolus above. Still ascending now 
Tbetween the outer and inner shells of the dome in full view of its marvellous construction one 
is impressed with the truth of the remark made by a famous architect, that "its architectural 
beauty is only equalled by the truly wonderful combination of its multitudinous parts." At 
last one reaches the "eye of the dome," where, nearly one hundred and fifty feet below, 
the Rotunda floor may again be looked down upon. Here is the " "Whis- 
pering Gallery," created by the acoustic pi'operties of the concave canopy. THE 
•Standing directly opposite each other, if their be but little noise in the WHISPERING 
Rotunda beneath, two persons may here converse in whispers, though GALLERY. 
seventy-five feet apart. The voice, however, will appear to be above and 
opposite the ]inint wliere the speaker stands. The close examination with an npera-glass of the 







Interior of Statuary Hall. 

figures in the Bruuiidi fresco is interesting from this point. A further climb, which swells the 
number of stairs mounted to three hundred and seventy-six, brings the visitor out on to the 
balcony at the top of the dome proper, aud at the base of the tolus or lantern whereon stands 
the Statue of American Freedom. 

The dome is two hundred and eighty-eight feet high and one hundred and thirty-six 
feet in diameter; it contains 8,909,200 pounds of iron alone, and cost upwards of $1,000,000. 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 29 

Enormous as this bulk is it was found, by a skillfully arranged mechanism, constructed by 
Architect Walter, that it had a very perceptible motion iu the gales of wind during December 
10 to 12, 18(jy. The crowning statue is by Crawford, model, $3,000; and tlie casting, $20 700, 
was done by Clark Mills. It is a female figure iu bronze, nineteen and one-half feet higii and 
weighing 14,985 pounds. In the right hand is grasped a sheathed sword, 
the other rests on a shield and a victor's wreath. A circlet of nine stars THE DOME 
and a cap crowned with an eagle's beak and feathers, said to have been AND SCATHE 
designed by the late Jefferson Davis, surmounts tlie head. A fur-trimmed OF FREEDOM, 
robe, gemmed with pearls, gracefully drapes the figure which stands on 
a globe encircled by a baud on which is engraved "E Pluribus Unum." There is a remark- 
able look of conscious power and majestic repose iu the face. It is so directly above the observer 
as to be difficult of examination, but the model is now in the centre of the National Museum 
and may there be examined. From this commanding point — the tip of the Statue is three hun- 
dred and seventy-seven feet above tide- water — there is to be had a remarkably charming view, 
but as the visitor will doubtless also obtain the still finer outlook from the Monument, a detailed 
description will not be given here. Reference to the maps will answer all questions likely to 
arise as to the identity of any building or locality. Perhaps one of the first matters to claim 
attention from this height is the unpardonable blunder which Jackson made while President, in 
choosing for the Treasury building a position where it effectually hides the White House from 
view. 

Having returned to the floor of the Rotunda, the visitor will be quite ready for a short 
rest, and no cooler or more enticing spot can be found than through the western door into 
the rooms of the Library of Congress. In 1800 the first appropriation, 
$5,000, was made to fit up suitable library rooms for the use of Congressmen THE LIBRARY 
and soon after an order for books was sent to London. The first librarian OF CONGRESS, 
was John Beckley, appointed from Virginia by President Jefferson, January 
26, 1802, at a salary "not to exceed $2 per diem for every day of necessary attendance." The 
first catalogue was issued in April, 1802, and contained nine hundred and seventy-three titles. 
In 1814, the Library, which had grown to fairly respectable proporcions, was robbed by the 
British troops and the books used as kindling to fire the Capitol. Soon after the refitting of 
suitable rooms in the repaired Capitol was finished, six thousand, seven hundred volumes, the 
bulk of his library, were bought of Thomas Jefferson for |23,950. In 1825 a candle left by 
some book-\vorm in one of the alcoves led to a fire in which many books, though but few of the 
really valuable ones, were burned. In 1832 there were two thousand and eleven law books on 
hand and on July 14, of that year, the Law Library was established as a separate organization, 
though under the same control. Up to that time only from $500 to $1000 per year had been 
voted for new books and necessary binding. On December 25, 1851, a third fire destroyed over 
thirty-five thousand volumes, or about three-fifths of the entire collection. At last Congress 
awakened to a due sense of its responsibility, and ample appropriations were made for fire-proof 
quarters for their literary treasures. A new Library Hall, the central one now in use, was 
constructed of iron and stone, ninety-one feet long, thirty- four feet wide, and 
thirty-four feet high, with three floors of book cases on each side. $75,000 THE LAW" 
was then appropriated to fill these shelves and an annual grant of $5,000 pro- LIBRARY, 
vided for. Into this room the Library returned in July, 1853, and the Law 
Library was removed to the basement, to the old Supreme Court Room where it now is. This 
department with an annual appropriation of $10,000, rapidly grew until it has at last come to 
be tlie most complete and accessible collection of legal works in the world, numbering about 
eight}' thousand. It now contains every volume of English, Irish and Scotch reports, as well 
as all American. A copious collection of Case Law, a complete collection of the Statutes of 
all civilized governments, including Russia since 1646, and many very rare first editions of 
peculiar value are among its treasures. 

In the first fifty yeai's of its existence the Library of Congress had grown to about sixty 



30 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



thousand volumes; in the past thirty years it has increased over fourteen fold. In 1864 Presi- 
dent Lincoln appointed as Librarian Ainsworth R. Spoft'ord, of Cincinnatti, who had been an 
assistant since 1861. It has been during his rule that the Library has become a prominent 
factor in the work of Congress, and that our Legislators have been brought to understand its 
great value to them and that they were but 
obeying the Constitutional injunction "to 
promote the general welfare," by doing all 
in their power to aid in 
its growth. Mr. Spoflford ADDITIONS 
at once took steps to sup- TO THE 

ercede the then compli- LIBRARY, 
cated system of catalogu- 
ing, a legacy from Mr. Jefterton's library, 
by the series of printed catalogues which now 
do so much towards rendering the books 
available, though of late years the greatly 
over-crowded state of the shelves has brought 
that work to a stand-still. The forty thou- 





Ives' Jonathan Trumbull. 

sand books then belonging to the Smith- 
sonian Institution were deposited here for 
want of room in that building, and a library 
of forty-five thousand works, the property of 
Peter Force, and mostly relating to early 
American history, were bought for $100,000. 
To accommodate these and other additions two 
wings at each end of the main hall were 
added. They are about the same size as the 
original room, but being a little higher have 
one more gallery. In the north wing are 
most of the illustrated works, art treasures 
and engravings, and here the visitor can ex- 
amine at his leisure a collection rarely rivalled. 
The Library is very rich in newspapers; every paper ever published in "Washington is here; the 
leading papers of Paris, London, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, etc., are represented by 
complete files. The laws governing copyright secure to this Library a complete collection of 
every book, pamphlet or paper published in America, which its author deems worthy of copy- 



Dlehaus' Garfield and Crittenden's Crawford. 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



31 



righting; those so secured before 1870 haviug been removed here from the Patent Office. Fifty 
copies of each work published by the Government— and tiiey are legion— are granted to the 
Library to use in exchange with foreign governments or libraries; these bring in much of great 
value and rarity. In 1882 Dr. Joseph M. Toner, of Washington, in a spirit worthy of emula- 
tion, presented his large private library, num- 
bering over twenty-seven 
thousand volumes, and THE TONER 
nearly as many pam- ADDITIONS, 
phlets, largely " Wash- 

ingtoniana;" and this munificent gift he sup- 
plements by annual additions. All the bind- 
ing is now done at the Government Printing 
OfBce without taxing the funds of the Library, 
which average about $11,000 per annum. 
The library now contains six hundred and 
tifty thousand volumes and two hundred 
and fifty thousand pamphlets, and ranks 
fifth in the world and the largest in 




the whole Western Hemisphere. 

Of late years the library's growth has been 
so rapid that some time ago it became evident 
that a building of the most generous propor- 
tions was demanded at once. Congress in 
1887 authorized the purchase of a suitable site 
adjoining the north-east portion of the Capitol 
grounds, and $585,000 were paid for the square 
of ten and a half acres between First and 
Second streets East, and East Capitol and B 
streets South, about one thousand feet from the 
Capitol. Here is now being erected a most 
commodious building of Italian rennaissance 
architecture, three hundred and sixty-five by 
four hundred and seventy feet in size, at an estimated cost of $6,000,000. This building of 
granite and marble with a greater area than that of the Capitol itself, will have a cellar, 
basement, and two stories ; the reading room will be one hundred feet in diameter and ninety 
feet high, communicating with radiating book repositories, nine galleries high, capable of 




French's Lewis Cass. 



32 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



holding over eight million volumes ; and it is claimed that the main vestibule, hall and stair- 
way will be the most imposing in the world. The need of these new quarters will be apparent 
to the visitor at all times as the tables and every available corner will usually be found fully 
occupied by interested readers, every one over sixteen years of age being entitled to use the 
Library between 9 a. m. and 4 p. m., on week days during the recess of Con- 
gress and until Congiess adjourns each day during tne session. Nine out of RULES 
ten of the Congressmen are said to take out books and some call for as many as OF THE 
one hundred volumes during a session. Books that can be readily duplicated LIBRARY. 
if lost or that are not needed on the shelves for constant reference may be taken 
out by any one while in the city who will deposit with the Librarian a sum sufficient to cover 
their cost, to be forfeited in case they are not returned in the condition as received. 

From the Library it will be well to proceed at once to the old Hall of Representatives, now 
known as Statuary Hall ; this is to be reached through the south entrance into the Rotunda, 
passing through a circular ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Trumbull, Revolutionary Pa- 
hallway whii'h communicates ^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^| triot, for whom the term 
with a stairway on the north ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| "Brother Jonathan" was 
and store rooms on t lie south. ^^^^^K/\^~' ^^^^^^H coined by Washington; Roger 
Here, before the completion ^^^^^HjJSK'^^^^^^^l Sherman, signer of the Dec- 
of their present quarters, in ^^^^PPP^^^I^^^^^^^I laratiou of Independence; 
1857, the House of Reprcsen- ^^H&fl^'^'i^'"' '^^^^H ^o^^^ by Ives, 
tatives met for thirty-oue ^|HHP^ji| ' ^^^H Maine. — William King, 
vears. It consists of a semi- ^^^KSt mF^^' ^^^1 first Governor, 1820, by Sim- 

circular hall fifty-seven feet ^^Mfy^B..- 4. "^|^|^H mons. 

high, ninety-six feet chord ^HP'jl^^- - ''^^^^1 Massachusetts. — John 
with commodious galleries, ^^B t' 'i^^^^^l Winthrop, first Governor, 

and supported by columns of ^Bk | '' ^ ^^^^H 1630, by R. S. Greenough ; 

breccia or "pudding stone" ^^^^' X ^^^^1 Samuel Adams, "The Father 

from Potomac quarries. In ^^K^'^^i.-- jk ^^^^| "^^ *^'^^ Revolution," by Miss 

1864 Congress issued an invi- ^^^Bl^K. I^m ^^^|^ Whitney, 
tation to each State to furnish ^^^^^^^^yHv* .^^^| Michigan. — Lewis Cass, 
two Statues of "chosen Sons, ^^^I^^^^^^Hp;*' ^^^| Senator, Secretary of War 
in marble or bronze, to be ^^^HHp ^^^p' ^^^H under Jack^oa, 1831, and 
placed permanently here" and ^^^|^^P> ^^^ft .^l^^l Secretary of State under 
though the: -^oonses have not ^^^^^^P^Vk^B~''^^^^^H Buchanan, ISf , by French, 
been as many he; could be de- ^^^E ^^n.J!!*'* *^-^^H New Jersey. — Richard 
sired, about twenty are now ^^^BB|^^^^-w>- _.^^^ <SVocfc<oft, signer of the Decla- 
in place. These are as fol- ^^^^^^^^^^^a^^^Kj^^M ration of Independence; Gen. 
lows: ^m^^lB^H^IH PA//. JTearnet/, Union General 

Connecticut. — Jonathan Mead's Ethan Allen. killed 1802, both by Brown. 

New York. — George Clinton, signer of the Declaration of Independence and Vice- 
President to both Jeflerson and Madi.son, by Brown ; Robert R. Livingston, the Chancellor 
who administered the oath to President Washington, 1789, by Palmer. 

Ohio. — James A. Garfield, President, 1881 ; William Allen, U. S. Senator and Gover- 
nor, both by Niehaus. 

Pennsylvania. — Robert Fulton, pioneer in steam navigation, by Roberts : Gen. 
Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, Continental Army, by Miss Nevin. 

Rhode Island. — Roger Williams, apostle of Religious Liberty, by Simmons; Gen. 
Nathaniel Greene, Continental Army ; by Brown. ^ 

Vermont. — Ethan Allen, captor, " in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Con- 
tinental Congress," of Fort Ticonderoga, by Mead ; Jacob Collamer, Senator, by Powers. 

In addition to these, also the property of the United States, but not presented under the 
foregoing conditions, there are Statues of Thomas Jefter.son, Framer of the Declaration and 



THE yATION'S PALACE. 33 

President, by David D' Angers presented by Lieutenant Levy ; Alexander Hamilton, first 
Secretary of the Treasury, bj Stone, $10,000 ; and Abraham Lincoln, Pre- 
sident, Emancipator and Martyr ; the latter is the much talked of work by OTHER 
Miss Vinnie Ream which cost $15,000. Here are also a bust of Lincoln, by NOTABLE 
Mi-s. Ames, $2,000 ; busts of Kosciusko and Pulaski, the Patriots, by STATUARY. 
Mochowski, alias Saunders, $500 each ; a bust of Crawford designer of the 
Statue of Freedom, on the dome, the Senate Bronze Door, etc., by Crittenden, $100; and por- 
traits of Joshua R. Giddings, the pioneer in anti-slavery, by Miss Ransom, $1,000 ; and Wash- 
ington, by Stuart, $1,200. Other objects of interest are the clock over the north entrance, de- 
signed by Latrobe and executed by Franzoni, representing " History in the Car of Time;" a 
plaster Cast of Houdon's Washington, made by Hubbard, $2,000 ; and the Centennial Safe in 
which are deposited records of national interest relating to our first century as a Nation, and 
which is to remain permanently closed until 1976. This Hall also possesses some remarkable 
acoustic properties, which it is worth while to get some one of the nearby olHcials to explain. 
Towards the S. W. corner, a small brass plate commemorates the spot where John Quincy 
Adams was struck by paralysis, February 21, 1848, two day before he died in 
the room at the N. E. of the Hall, where a marble bust now stands. This is WHERE 
now the olKce of the Clerk of the House, and the adjoining rooms are used ADAMS 
as an Index Room and by the House Committee on Banking and Currency, DIED, 
and those opposite to them as Document Rooms. 

Passing trom this Hall along a corridor, where are the telegraph and cable offices, the 
House Extension is reached. In the centre of this wing is the Hall of Representatives, a room 
139 feet long, 93 feet wide and 36 feet high, arranged to accommodate three hundred and thirty- 
two Representatives and Delegates and the regular otHcers of the House, on a main floor 113 
by 67 feet, with galleries seating 2,000 persons, certain parts being reserved for the Diplomatic 
Corps, for families of the Senators, Representatives and members of the Cabinet, and for the 
newspaper reporters. Its ceiling of decorated iron, supported from the 

roof, has a large central skylight with the glass panels decorated with HALL OF REP- 
StHte arms ; through this the sun by day and an excellent artificial RESENTATIVES. 
system by night aflfbrd ample light. The desk of the Speaker of the 

House is of white marble; the Mace, the symbol of his authority, is placed each day on a 
pedestal at his right, by the Sergeant-ai>Arms, when the House is called to order. On one 
side of his chair is a full-length portrait of Washington, by Vanderlyn, $2,500, on the other 
side one of Lafayette, by Ary SchefFer, and presented by him. In large panels between the 
lobby doors are two paintings by Bierstadt, representing "The First Landing of Henry Hud- 
son " and "The Discovery of California," $10,000 each. Another panel contains a fresco by 
Brumidi, representing "General Washington refusing Lord Cornwallis' request for an 
Armistice at Yorktown " just before the final surrender. 

Leaving this Hall by the eastern door, with the House Library on the right, the corridor 
and eastern portico are before the visitor. The columns of this portico, like all those around 
the north and south extensions, are of single blocks of marble from a 
Maryland quarry, and all were rolled from the quarry to the point at THE MONO- 

which they were loaded on the flatboats on which they were trans- LITHIC COLUMNS, 
ported ; this unusal proceeding had the advantage of severely proving 

the solidity of each one that withstood the strain. To the right of this corridor is the richly 
frescoed room of the Committee on Ways and Means ; beyond it that of the Sergeant-at-Arms, 
with the Speaker's Room, Members' Retiring Room, with its richly panelled and decorated 
ceiling, etc., along the south corridor, or lobby. In this lobby there are many portraits of 
notables, chiefly former Speakers of the House, both dead and living, 

and at each end of it will be found elevators which run from the LOBBIES AND 
basement to the attic floor. In the southwest corner of this floor COMMITTEE ROOMS, 
are two rooms used by the Committee on Appropriations, and 



SOUrHERN LOBBY 

® ® 




SENATORS LOBBY 



^^^m VICE PRESIDENT'S ^H 
■^V ROOM ^H 



^H PRESIDENT'S ^^^ 

■ «oo. IP 




Plau of House of Representatives Cliamber, 



THE NATIOJSrS PALACE. 



35 



adjoiniag thorn on the west end are the rooms of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors and of 
the Journal and Printing Clerks. 

The western stairway, of Tennessee marble, has at its landing a picture, "Westward! 
Ho !" by Leutze, $20,000, with "Golden Gate," San Francisco, by Bierstadt, below it, and a- 
portrait of Chief Justice John Marshall, by Brooks, at the head, and at its foot a bronze bust 
of the Chippewa Chief, Bee-She-Kee, "The Buffalo," by Vincenti. In the northwest corner is 
the room of the Committee on Naval Affairs, and in the northeast corner that on Military 
Affairs ; in the latter may be seen Lieut. Col. Eastman's collection of paintings of the principal 
fortifications of the country. Along the south corridor of this floor, adjoining the main hall, 
are the cloak rooms. 

Having now reached the eastern stairway, at the foot of which is Powers' statue of Jeffer- 
son, $10,000, and a full length jwrtrait of Henry Clay, by Neagle, flanked by those of " Charles 
Carroll of Carrollton," the last surviving signer of the Declaration, and Gunning Bedford, by 
Stuart, and on the landing the painting "President Lincoln and his Cabinet," or"Signirg 
the Proclamation of Emancipation," September 22, 186.3, by Carpenter, $25,000, presented by 
Mrs. Thompson and accepted by appointed orators, of whom Alexander H. Stevens, Ex- Vice- 




Capitol.— Main Floor Plan. 



President of the Confederate States, was one, it is best to ascend to the floor above. North ot 
this stairway is the room of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and south of it that of the 
Judiciary, followed by those of Commerce and Public Lands. Beyond, com- 
municating with the Ladies' Gallery are retiring rooms, with a matron in THE 
charge and still further west Journalists' Rooms and a Lobby. Along the HOUSE 
west end of this floor are the Committee Rooms of Pacific Railroads and Pen- GALLERIES, 
sions. Elections, Railways and Canals, and Patents, and on the District of 
Columbia, with that of Banking and Currency beyond the stairway. The main corridor, from, 
which entrance may be made to the galleries to witness the House of Representatives at work, 
which begins each day of the session at noon, leads on the north to the main library room in 
which 125,000 volumes of documents are kept, and continues to the east stairway where it or the 
elevator may be taken to the basement floor. 

The whole of the basement of the House is occupied by Committees, or by Restaurant, 
Bath and Retiring Rooms. The interesting rooms among these are the Restaurant in the 
east centre, where most edibles and drinkables are to be obtained ; the Bath, which is well 
worth seeing ; that of the Committee on Agriculture, near the west stairway, with some of the 



36 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



handsomest frescoes in the building, portraying "Cinciunatus called from tlie Plow" to 
be Dictator of Rome, "Putnam called from the Plow" to join the Con- 
tinental Army, a medallion of Washington and an old-time harvest, and a . THE 
medallion of Jefferson and a modern harvest, with Flora, Ceres, Bacchus, and HOUSE 
Boreas, symbols of the four seasons, on the ceiling; and the room of the BASEMENT. 
Committee on Indian Affairs, where are interesting pictures representing 
Indian life. From this wing the corridor leads northward, past various Committee and Clerks' 

rooms, whei'e there is 
nothing of interest to 
detain the sight-seer, on 
into the centre of the 
building to 
the Crypt THE 
with its forty CRYPT. 
massive col- 
umns and the stone star 
marking the exact cen- 




Senat^.— D. ('. Ciiiiiinitii'f Rnoin. 
tre of the building, which was formerly 
tak jn as the meridian of Washington. 

West of the Crypt are twelve Committee 
rooms and surrounding it are storage rooms 
for the Library of Congress, none of which 
are of special interest. Continuing north- 
ward are the Senate Bath NORTH 
Room and the Consultation 
Rooms of the Supreme 
Court on the west side, and on the east 
the Law Library, prior to 1859 the Hall of 
the Supreme Court. Here is a most com- 
plete collection of legal works, already 
described on page 31, and here may be 
observed the "Corn Cob Columns" allu- 
ded to elsewhere. Those portions of the 
basement beneath the Senate Wing which Senate. -Marble Room, 

are of most interest are the Restaurant like that of the House ; the official telegraph office con- 
nected by telephone with all the Departments in the city and by wire with all parts of the 
globe; the rooms of the Committees on Military and on Naval Affairs, near the west stairway, 
where are frescoes representing the Boston Massacre, Battle of Lexington, Death of Wooster, 
Washington at Valley Forge, and Capture of Stony Point, in the former, and Marine 
deities, in the latter; The Committee on Library, appropriately frescoed in the south- 
west corner; and the Committee on Indian Affairs, near by. Other of the Committee 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 37 

rooms are suitably decorated, and a fresco of Las Casas, the Spanish liero-priest, at tlie west 
stairs ; frescoes by Bruiuidi of the "Signing of the Treaty of Ghent," De- 
cember 2-i, 181-1, over the door vo the Committee on Foreign delations, at the SENATE 
centre ot the north front ; and a full length portrait of liobert Fultou over the BASEMENT, 
entrance to the ^Committee on Patents, just north of the east corridor, are 
worthy of examination. South of this latter room, and beyond the corridor, will be found the 
east stairway, of Tennessee marble, from which the main floor may be reached. 

The Hall of the Senate occupies in the north extension a position identical with that of 
the House of Representatives in the south extension, but it is a smaller room, being one hun- 
dred and thirteen by eighty-one feet, and thirty-six feet high, the surrounding 
cloak rooms and lobbies under the galleries, reducing the main floor to eighty- SENATE 
three by fifty-one feet; the galleries will seat twelve hundred persons, and CHAMBER, 
there are desks for eighty-eight Senators and the regular officers. The iron and 
glass ceiling is like that of the House and the glass panels are decorated with symbols of Pro- 
gress, the Union, the Army, the Navy, and the Mechanical Arts ; the desks are of highly 
polished mahogany. Leaving the Senate Chamber by the south door and turning to the right 
along the corridor the west stairway, a superb piece of workmanship in white marble, is 
reached. At the foot is Stone's statue of John Hancock, $5,500, and on the landing Walker's 
painting of the "Storming of Chapultepec, " Mexico, September 13, 1847, $6,000, (the artist 
was an American resident and refugee from the City of Mexico just prior to 
this time and some of his studies for the picture were made during the engage- COMMITTEE 
ment), and Charles Wilson Peale's portrait of Washington in 1779, at the KOOMS. 

head. Surrounding this stairway are the rooms of the Secretary of the Senate 
and the Chief, Executive, Financial, Engrossing, and Enrolling Clerks under his charge. 

In the northwest corner of this floor are the rooms of the Committees on Appropriations 
and Enrolled Bills, and adjoining them, along the north front, are the rooms set aside for the 
President, the Senators, and the Vice-President. The first of these is one of the finest rooms 
in the Capitol ; here the President comes to take part in the final rush of business incident to 
signing the bills during the last hours of the sessions of Congress. Portraits of Thomas Jeffer- 
son, Secretary of State, Henry Knox, Secretary of War, Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the 
Treasury, Edmund Randolph, Attorney-General, and Samuel Osgood, Postmaster-General — 
Washington's first Cabinet — and one of Washington, hang on the 

handsomely decorated and gilded walls. The four corner ceiling THE PRESIDENT'S 
frescoes represent Columbus, or "Discovery," William Brewster, the AND 

first Plymouth pastor, or "Religion," Americus Vespuccius, or "Ex- MARBLE ROOMS, 
ploration," and Franklin, or "History." Between these are others 

representing Liberty, Legislation, Religion, and Executive Power ; all are the work of Brumidi. 
From this room along the north lobby, at each end of which is a Bronze Stairway costing $5, 000, 
entrance is next had into the Senators' Withdrawing Room or Marble Room, as it is usually 
called. Here the walls are of plate glass mirrors and Tennessee marble, with four Italian 
marble supporting columns, and a ceiling of the same. Continuing eastward the next is the 
Vice-President's Room, in which Rembrandt Peale's famous portrait of Washington, $2,000, 
and busts of President, pro. tern., Foster, of Connecticut, and of Viqe-President Wilson, who 
died in this room November 22,1875, are the chief attractions. Beyond a Ladies' Reception 
Room, the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and the room of the Committee on the District of 
Columbia fill the northeast corner of this floor ; these are decorated, the former, sixty feet long, 
has a vaulted ceiling divided into two arches, one-half of which contains frescoes of Liberty, 
War, Plenty, and Peace, the other of Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Strengtli, and on 
the south wall a painting of Washington in consultation with Jefterson and Hamilton, and the 
latter room richly frescoed, all by Brumidi. The Senate Postofiice is well furnished and deco- 
rated with frescoes, by Brumidi, $5,000, to represent History, Geography, Physics, and Tele- 
grapliy. The corridor adjoining contains an Equestrian portrait of General Scott, by Trove, 







m'iSP 

-«i iil ll MMI IB B BMMBgBiBa»^ 
A\ ashington's Inauguration. 



^-r'^^ 



/«i^>'.. 



W.i>|]ilr^l.il, ul I I 




l^te^:fC./l^^ 




I'm I M Hill iimI 'I. nil I W .nu ii 



•■ ■, ^"~^>^ 






iti % ' nL f '"-f"' itf' \llt k ifc."' 

'^^^ * ;iM Ilk' fv- 



Monmoutli an. I K.'iiiiU. -ii I. 







J^ 



Ydiktdwii and Hamilton 



iiiifiiiiiriiiii I'l II I III " r 




Peace and Its blessings. War aud ltt> terrors. 

The Crawford Bronze Door— Senate 'Wing. 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



39 



who had a special house ereJted for this purpose at West Poiut where for several months the 
General visited the artist almost daily, valued at $25,000 ; a full length portrait of Henry Clay, 
by Nagle, $1,500, which Mr. Clay pronounced an excellent likeness. 

The Eastern Corridor, adorned with pillars and with panels of scaglioni marble, which 
follows, leads to the famous Bronze Door, by Crawford, illustrative of " Eevolutionary and 
Federal History," put iu place November, 1868, costing $6,000 for the models and $50,000 for 
casting by the Messrs. Ames, and being 7 feet 6 inches by 14 feet 6 inches in outside measure- 
ments, and weighing 14,000 pounds. The North Valve commemorates "War and its 




Supreme Court Room. 

Terrors," the South, 'Peace and its Blessings." The ijeriod illustrated is but eighteen years, 
and begins, chronologically, at the top of the north valve, where is por- 
trayed the "Battle of Bunker Hill and Death of General Warren," June CRAWFORD 
17, 1775. Below, "Battle of Monmouth and Rebuke of the Traitor, BRONZE DOOR. 
General Charles Lee, " June 28, 1778; next, "Yorktown and the gallant 
Hamilton," October 19, 1781, with a "A Hessian Soldier Attacking a Colonial House" at the 
bottom. Opposite, and in contrast to this last study, is an allegorical representation of 
"Peace"; above, "Washington's Reception at Trenton," as he was on his way to New York 
to assume the Presidency ; next, " Inauguration of Washington," Vice-President John Adams 
stands just back of Washington, Chancellor Livingston administers the oath. Secretary of the 
Senate Otis, Alexander Hamilton, Generals Knox and St. Clair, Baron Steuben and Roger 
Sherman are grouped around; and in the upper panel '"Laying of the Corner-stone of the 
Capitol," September 18, 1793, by Washington. The door, like that of Rogers leading into the 
Rotunda, is in high relief, and by some thought to be a work of equal merit. Above it is a 
marble group , also by Crawford, of "History and Justice" aud out on the tympanum, or 



4 THE NA TION'S PA LA CE. 

gable end of the portico, a sculpture by the same artist, which l;y many is thought to be his 
greatest work aud one of the chief adornments of the Capitol. lu this Crawford 
has attempted to portray in a single group the "Past and Present of America." SENATE 
In the centre, America oflfers the laurel wreaths of mei'itto her deserving citizens ; PORTICO, 
the rising sun and the eagle portray her youth and her strength ; at her left the 
pioneer levels the forest, the youthful hunter stands near, and beyond the Indian warrior and 
his family, in deepest gloom, watch the inroads of the coming race while only the inevitable 
grave is back of them. To the right stand the soldier, ready for defense, the educated youths 
and their teacher, ready for good citizenship in any walk of life, and the mechanic and the 
merchant are here with the emblems of Agriculture and Commerce, the bulwarks of the Nation. 
This suggestive work, together with that of "History and Justice," cost $20,000 for the models 
and $29,000 for sculpture. 

Returning to the corridor and turning to the south, the East Stairway is reached ; this is 
of Tennessee marble ; at its foot is a statue of Benjamin Franklin, by Powers, $10,000, and on 
the landing are the paintings, " Perry's Victory on Lake Erie, " September 10, 1813, by Powell, 
$25,000, and 'Recall of Columbus," by Seaton, portraying the turning point in his life, when 
the Great Discoverer, sick at heart and worn with disappointment, is hastily called back to the 
court of Ferdinand and Isabella to learn that at last they have decided to listen to his prayers 
and send him out to discover a New World ; this is flanked by jwrtraits of Jelferson, by Sully, 
and Patrick Henry. South of the Stairway are the rooms of the Official Reporters and the 
Committee on Finance, and near by an elevator, should the visitor prefer this to the Stairway, 
which leads to the gallery floor above. In the south-east corner of the upper floor of the Senate 
Extension are the rooms of the Joint Committee on Public Printing, and a conference room ; the 
Eastern Corridor is decorated by Thomas Moran's superb paintings, "Canonof the Yellowstone" 
and "Chasm of the Colorado," $10,000 each, portraits of Webster, Clay and Calhoun, and the 
statue, "II Penserosa," by Mozier, $2,000 ; and in the the north-east corner are the rooms of 
the Committees on Claims and Private Land Claims. The latter open into the ante-room to the 
Ladies' Gallery, which contains portraits of General Dix and Senator Sumner, and paintings 
of "The First Fight of the Ironclads" and "The Electoral Tribunal of 1877," in which may 
be recognized many historic faces, with a portrait of Garfield on one side of it and the famous 
mosaic portrait of Lincoln, presented by Salviati, estimated at $1,200, on the other. Along 
the north front are the Ladies' Retiring Room, with a matron in charge, the Journalists' Room 
and the Press Telegraph Oflice. In the north-west portion of this floor are the rooms of the 
Committees on Engrossed Bills, Commerce, Privileges and Elections, and 
Railroads, beyond them the Western Stairway, already described, and SENATE 
behind aud south of this those of the Committee on Expenditures, Coast GALLERIES. 
Defences, and Public Buildings and Grounds. From the South Corridor 
entrance can be had to the Senate Galleries, those tor gentlemen being on the west, the Press 
immediately back of the presiding officer's desk, that for the Diplomatic Corps facing the 
latter, and those to the east for ladies and the families of Senators and officials. From this corridor 
the visitor, turning to the south, can go through the Senate Document Rooms, on each hand, 
with those of the Committees on Nicaragua Claims, the Library Building and that of the 
Senate Library, 30,000 volumes, beyond ; here, to the east, is also the entrance to the Supreme 
Court gallery, and near at hand is the stairway leading to the dome, down which the lower 
floor may be reached. 

Having thus reached what may be known as the Supreme Court wing of the main build- 
ing, which alone remains to be inspected on this floor, the visitor will turn to the north and 
along tlie west front will And the Vestibule of the Supreme Court, and opening from this the 
Clerk of the Court's Rooms aud the Robing Room for the Justices, in which are portraits of 
Chief Justices Jay, by Stewart, Marshall, by Rembrandt Peale and a companion piece to his 
Washington, Chase and Taney, by Healy. East of this vestibule is the Supreme Court Room, 
which until 1859 was the Senate Chamber, the room just below this, now used as the Lawr 



THE NATION'S PALACE. 



41 



Library, then being the Hall of the Supreme Court, where they first met, Februarys, 1801, 

John Marshall presiding. This room is 45 by 75 feet and 45 feet high ; 

the gallery is supported by a row of Ionic columns of variagated Potomac SUPREME 

marble with Italian marble capitals ; on brackets along the west wall are COURT ROOM. 

busts of the former chief justices. On the north side of this hall is the 

retiring room for the Justices and on the south side the office of the Marshal, through 

which entrance to the main hall may be had in case the central entrance is closed. This 

completes the tour of the three main floors of the Capitol, and leaves only that of the Sub- 

baseraeni to be explored. 

The most interesting features of the Sub-basement floor are in the rooms where are the 
mechanisms and appliances for heating, ventilating and lighting the building. These are 
under the two extreme wings, and in them will be found attendants who are very polite in 
giving information to visitors. 

Under the Crypt in the center of the main building is the Undercroft, where it was 
at first intended the remains of Washington should be deposited. A portion of the bier, which 
at different times has held the remains of Lincoln, Thaddeus Stevens, 
Chief Justice Chase and others, is still here; this vault will on appli- THE 

cation be opened by an officer of the building. In this sub-basement story UNDERCROFT, 
are also the rooms of a number of the Committes that have been unable to 
find quarters on the floors above, and the offices of the Architect and other officials of the 
Capitol. 

Thus ends our inspection of the most beautifully majestic and historically impressive 
structure of its kind in the Western Hemisphere ; no where in the world is there another such 
monument to civil and religious liberty. 







uliu-s on the Jhuii I'ortioo of the Caiiitol. 




THE EXECUTIVE MANSION. 

N MARCH 14, 1792 the Commissioners of the District advert ist-tl 
for a design for " the President's House." James Hoban, already 
mentioned as one of the architects of the Capitol, was the su''- 
cessful competitor and on October 13, 1792, General Washingtoa 
was present at the laying of the Corner-Stone of the building, 
which was closely copied after the home of the Duke of Leinster, 
in Dublin. The building was not completed until about the 
time of Washington's death in 1799; President John Adams was 
the first occupant in 1800, the house being formally opened to the 
public by a reception given on New Years Day, 1801. In August 1814, the British, during 
their invasion of the Capital, after partaking of a lunch which they found awaiting the scattered 
guests, set fire to the Executive Mansion, and nothing but blackened walls remained. It was 
soon restored along the lines of the former structure with some 
minor and interior alterations and thus remained until 1881, 
when under President Arthur it was completely renovated and 
many modern improvements were introduced. Originally the 
building cost $333,000 ; when rebuilt in 1815, $300,400 addi- 
tional were expended and the stables and conservatories added 
$72,000 to those amounts; the total cost for the building, repairs 
and alterations to date has been about $1,700,000. It is still 
far from being either in size, location or appearance worthy 
of the important position which it now holds as the oflicial 
residence and office of the Chief Executive of the Great Ke- 
public. Consequently it sounds strange at this day, to read 
the words of a writer in the Democratic Review for November 
1842, who, after urging that the Executive Mansion be sold 
to the then recently organized Smithsonian Institution, says : 

" Let the residence of the President be transferred to a more 
modest mansion * * and the only wonder would soon come 
to be how we could ever have so long tolerated to see and hear 
of ' the Palace of the President.' " 

Situated in the Executive Grounds of about 80 acres, which 
extend between 15tli and 17th streets, west, 
and B street and Pennsylvania Avenue, PLAN AND 
north, the Mansion faces north on the last DIMENSIONS, 
named and is surrounded by trees, shrubbery 
and appropriate landscape gardening ; it is about one and 
a half miles from the Capitol. The building is one hundred 
and seventy feet long by eighty-six feet wide, two stories high, 
in front and owing to the slope of the ground, three stories 
in the rear. A massive porte cochere, in the style dear to 
Executive Manslon.-Corridor. Virginians of one©hundred and fifty years ago, in the 
front, and a semi-circular balcony, with the supporting pillars reaching to the main roof level, 
in the rear, add variety to the Ionic architecture of what otherwise would be a severely 




Executive Mansion. —Red Koom. 




THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



43 



plain structure. It is from the latter that the occupants of the Mansion are accustomed 
to listen to the regular Saturday afternoon serenade concerts of the Marine Band which, open 
to the public, are given in these grounds from May to October. From the main portico the 
door opens into a spacious vestibule, forty by fifty feet, which in turn opens to the right 
into a private Waiting Room for the use of social callers, to the left into the hall and stair- 
way which lead to the ante-room above, where olficial callers must await the pleasure of the 
President, or leads through to the Grand Corridor whit-h runs throutrh the lower fluor from east 
to west, the walls of which 
are decorated with portraits 
of the Presidents. From 
the latter or from the ante- 
room stairway access may be 
had to the East Room, forty 
by eighty feet, and twenty- 
two feet high, 
which is open GROUND 
to the public PLAN, 
from 10 a.m. 

to 2 p.m. unless a State 
ceremony be pending. Tliis 
is the promenade during en- 
tertainments ; it presents a 




fine appearance during 
evening receptions, is rich- 
ly furnished and decorated 
by several valuable paint- 
ings, among which a Gil- 
bert Stuart of Washington, 
and portraits of Martha 
Washington, Thomas Jef- 
ferson and Abraham 
Lincoln are prominent; 
the three-panelled ceiling 
is beautifully decorated. 
Here at stated intervals it 
is the President's custom 
Executive Mausiou.— Sotttli Front. to come and allow himself 

to be shalsen by the hand by those who throng for that privilege. Opening into this room 
and extending along the south front of the main floor are the Green, Blue, and Red rooms 
so called from the prevailing color of their furniture and decorations. These are beautiful 
rooms, used on ceremonial and private occasions, and are only opened to the public when not 
in use, and on special request ; the Green Room contains portraits of a few of the former 
''ladies of the White House," Mrs. Tyler, Mrs. Polk and Mrs. Hayes; the Red Room contains 
portraits of Presidents John Adams, Van Buren, and Taylor. Beyond there, occupying 



44 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



the S. W. corner of this floor, is the State Dining Room where many historic banquets have 
been served. 

Gastronomic matters have always raulied as of considerable importance in the lives of 
our statesmen, as they have abroad ; it was at a dinner that Hamilton and others 
were led to throw the weight of their influence for the selection of the present site 

for the Fed- 




THE 

DINING 

ROOM. 



ENTRANCE 



Executive Mansion. —Main Floor Plan. 



eral'District; 
in the pur- 
suit of that simplicity 
of life which made liim 
;in ideal American of 
liis time, President Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison, 
while marketing for the 
Wiiite House table, is 
said to have caught that 
cold which carried him 
otf after Ijut one month 
of his term had elapsed; 
and, returning in a pro- 
fuse perspiration from 
the ceremonies at the 
Washington M o n u - 
ment. President Taylor 
sat down to a banquet and cooled himself by paying especial attention to the cherries and 
iced milk, from the effects of which he died in five days. • Here sat Dolly Madison, where she 
was more of a feature at the State dinners of that day than her husband, the President ; and 
here Mrs. Hayes taught 
a nation that providing 
the means wherewith 
to become intoxicated 
and the truest hospital- 
ity were not always 
compatible. The rest 
of this floor is occupied 
by the private dining- 
room, elevator, butler's 
pantry, etc. 

On the upper floor the 
rooms to the east are 
given up to the Execu- 
tive offices and those to 
the west are the private 
rooms of the President's 
family. The visitor 
who has business with 
or desires to "pay his 

respects" to the President, should announce that fact to one of the ushers at the front entrance; 
he will be taken up the stairs to the ante-room above, and, if it be the proper hour, 
will in due time be admitted to the oflSce, which is the center one of a suite of three THE 
rooms occupying the south-east corner of the building, that to the west being the UPPER 
Cabinet Room, and the corner room the office of the Private Secretary. The two FLOOR. 




Eiecutlve Mansion. —Second Floor Front. 
Note. — Only the portion to the left of the Official Stairway is open to the public. 




rooms ill the northeast corner 
are used as clerical offices, and 
tlie circular room in the south- 
center, over the Blue Room, for 
the Library, where are about 
5,000 volumes and some por- 
traits of Presidents. The re- 
mainder of the floor, comprising 
a main corridor, jirivate stair- 
way, and nine bed and living 
rooms, is all that can really be 
called the private portion of the 
Presidential liesidence, and 
even here the prying eyes of 
the public would sometimes 
follow the Nation's chief ser- 
vant, if allowed so to do. The 
basement floor is given up to 
servants' rooms, kitchens, store- 
rooms, etc. ; a conservatory of 
the usual hot-house rarities 



Executive Mansimi.— Blue Kooin. 



ftpens out from the western end 
of the building. 

Presidents Tyler and Cleve- 
land are the only ones who have 
here brought brides to under- 
take the cares of officialdom, 
and these young wives of much 
older men will always be roman- 
tic figures in the history of the 
first century of the Executive 
Mansion. But to the true lover 
of his country and its institu- 
tions the Mansion's greatest 
charm will be in the fact that 
in these rooms lived and brave- 
ly carried a Nation's burdens 
that manliest of men, that typi- 
cal American, the martyr, 
Lincoln. 




Executive Mansion.— Green Room. 



46 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 



HE Department of State is located in the southern part of the magnificent pile 
known as the State, War, and Navy Building, which covers the plot of ground 
between Seventeenth street and Executive avenue, west, and Pennsylvania 
and New York avenues, north. This building was designed by the late Sup- 
ervising Architect of the Treasury, A. B. Mullett, in the Italian renaissance 
style ; it is of Maine and Virginia granite, has a mansard 
roof, and is five hundred and sixty-seven feet long and three STATE WAR, 
hundred and forty-two feet wide, including the projections, cover- AND NAVY 
ing four and one-half acres. It was begun in 1871 and not entirely BUILDING, 
finished until 1887; it contains five hundred and sixty-six rooms, 
over two miles of corridors, and cost very nearly Sll, 000,000. It is practically one building 





Executive Mausiou. — East Room. 

made by uniting four fronts, of the same design, by connecting wings. It is variously described 
as "the finest edifice of the kind in the world," as "having few equals in the world," etc., but 
to many its beauty is greatly marred by the roof and by the very "cut up " appearance which 
is due to the myriads of small windows and .short pillars. 

The State Department, in the southern front of the building, is richly furnished, and is prin- 
cipally interesting on account of its library and documents. On the second floor are the 
Reception, Diplomatic Corps, Secretary's, Assistant Secretaries', and Chief Clerk's Rooms. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



47 



Portraits of all the Secretaries, from Jefferson, 1789, to the present, are on the walls of the ante- 
room to the ofSt-e of the Secretary of State; in that for the use of the Diplomatic 
Corps are portraits of the Bey of Tunis, of Lord Ashburton, and of some STATE 
of the Secretaries. On the floor above is the Library, containing over fifty LIBKARY. 
thousand volumes, ana such objects of interest as the original draft of the 
Declaration of Independence, the desk on which it was written, the original engrossed copy, 
fully signed, and a case of relics, in which Washington's War sword is conspicuous. Here 
there are also very extensive files of newspapers since 1781, and the records of the Department 
are rich in historic documents. This Department can best be viewed by consulting the 
Messenger at the door of the Secretary's ofiice. Here, also are the Bureau of Indexes and 
Archives ; the Diplomatic Bureau, with three divisions ; the Consular Bureau, with four 
divisions ; the Bureaux of Accounts, Rolls and Library, and Statistics ; and the Examiner 
of Claims, who is an oflicer of the Department of Justice. 

Under the supervision of this Department is the Bureau of American Republics, which 
is located at 2, Lafayette Square ; this Bureau was recommended by the International Amer- 




State, "War, and Navy Building. 
lean Conference, October, 1889— April, 1890, its scope to be the collection 



AMERICAN 
BUREAU OF 
REPUBLICS. 



and publication of "information of value to producers, merchants, manu- 
facturers, and others interested in the development of commerce between 
the countries of the Western Hemisphere." The Bureau is at all times 
available as a medium of communication for persons desiring such information, and its publi- 
cations will be found of great value and interest. 



48 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR. 




HE Department of "War occupies the west section and much of the north front 
of the same building with the Department of State and the Navy. On the second 
floor, at the transverse corridor, west front, is the fine suite of apartments occu- 
pied by the Secretary of War. In these and the adjacent corridors may be seen 
a gallery of the portraits of the Secretaries and distinguished military officers; 
the messenger at the door can admit visitors, if the rooms be vacant. The 
library, over 20,000 volumes on the fifth floor, the domed corridor, and the Head- 
quarters of the Army, on the ground floor, open by permission of an aide, are points of 
interest. Here are also the offices of the Adjutant, Quartermaster, Commissary, 
Paymaster, Inspector, J udge- Advocate, and Surgeon-Generals, as well as the Bureaux 
of Ordnance, War Records, Engineering, and Public Buildings and Grounds. InconnectioQ 
with this Department are also the Washington Barracks, or Arsenal, Army Medical Museum, 
Soldiers' Home, and the Signal Office. 

The Washington Barracks are located at the foot of 4)^ street, s. w., on 
grounds of seventy acres, open to visitors daily until sunset ; they may be reached by transfer 
from any of the street-car lines, or direct by the 7th street cable line or the 9th street branch of 
the Metropolitan road. The grounds are on a tongue of land surrounded on three sides by the 
Potomac, and are a favorite park in the summer. Here stood the old Penitentiary Building, 
where were tried and hung the Lincoln assassination conspirators, aad under which the bodies 
of Booth, Mrs. Surratt, and the others were for a time buried. lu 1864, by an explosion in 
the laboratory, 21 girls were killed^ who are now buried iu the Congressional Cemetery. 
Since 1803 these grounds have been occupied by the War Department ; in 1814 they were 
destroyed by the British, and were rebuilt in 1815. The Rifle Range, where there is daily 
practice, 9 to 11 a. m.. Hospital, Battery Drill Ground, drilling daily at 10 a. m., and Fish 
Ponds are among the points of interest. 

The Army Medical Museum, adjoining the National Museum on the east, at the 
corner of 7th and B streets, s. w., cau be reached by the 7th street cable cars, or a walk 
through the Mall. The building is of brick, is 232 by 136 feet, with basement, three stories 
and wings, cost $200,000, and was finished in 1888. The points of interest are the Museum and 
the Library on the second floor ; the former contains over 27,000 specimens of interest to sur- 
gical and medical students and microscopists, and is the best collection of the kind extant ; 
many of the exhibits, while exceedingly gruesome, are of great historic interest. The Library 
contains about 110,000 books and 160,000 pamphlets, and is open to the use of specialists and 
properly introduced readers ; it is kept card-catalogued to date, and the twenty volumes of the 
Index Catalogue, now being published, is the most stupendous and complete library catalogue 
ever issued ; about 15,000 books and papers are added annually, perhaps 20 per cent, being by 
gift of medical men from all countries ; it is undoubtedly the leading library of its kind in the 
world. The Pension Record Division and Army Medical Supply Exhibit, on the first floor, 
are also of interest. 

The Signal, Office, under the care of "Old Probabilties, " is at 24th and M streets, 
n. w., but a short walk from the ears of the AV. & G. line. It may readily be distinguished 
by the vanes, anemometers, etc., on the building ; the instrument room is of chief interest. 
The Soldiers' Home will be found described elsewhere. 



WMAJ 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



49 




THE NAVY DEPARTMENT. 

HE Navy Department occupies the east front and half of that part of the 

building north of the Department of State. On the second floor, opposite 

the central stairway is the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, which may 

be viewed, if not occupied, by speaking to the messenger at the door ; it 

is beautifnllv deco- 



rated and contains 
some portraits of recent 
Secretaries. In the 
corridor are some ex- 
quisite models of our 
battleships; the stair- 
ways should be inspected also, as they 
are among the chief features of the 
building ; they contain over 1100 
bronze balusters, surmounted by a 
massive rail of Honduras mahogany; 
the sky-light over these is also wor- 
thy of close examination. The Library 
of this Department 
is on the fourth floor, THE NAVAL 
and is the finest room LIBRARY, 
in this wing; foreign 
and domestic marbles are used in 
panelling the walls, in the corners 




Old Naval Observaturj . 



ait' large bronze symbolic 
figures supporting chan- 
deliers, theceilingof glass 
and iron is of artistic de- 
sign, and a gallery runs 
around the room. The 
volumes number about 
twenty thousand and are 
of especial value to those 
interested in Naval sci- 
ence and "Warfare. From 
this point the roof of the 
buildingcan be visited, by 
procuring the key at the 



60 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 

office of the Superintendent ; the view over the city is very fine, the height is about one hun- 
dred and twenty-five feet. 

This Department is divided into eight Bureaux, viz : Equipment and Kecruiting, Yards 
and Docks, Ordnance, Provisions and Clothing, Construction aud Repair, Steam Engineer- 
ing, Navigation, and Medicine and Surgery ; and the offices of the Judge- 
Advocate General, Naval Intelligence, Steel Inspection Board, and the NAVAL 
Hydrographic Office. In connection with it, but in other buildings, are the BUREAUX. 
Naval Observatory, Naval Hospital, see elsewhere. Marine Barracks, Navy 
Yard, Nautical Almanac Office, the Magazines, Navy Pay Office, Museum of Hygiene, and 
Naval Dispensary. Of these the offices of the Nautical Almanac, at Pennsylvania and 19th, 
street n. w., Navy Paymaster, 1425 New York avenue., n. w., and the Naval Dispensary; 
1707 New York avenue, n. w., and the grounds of Bellevue Magazines, on the Potomac, 
nearly opposite Alexandria, are not of especial interest. 

The Naval Observatory is located in the reservation known as "University 
Square" and can be reached by a walk of about a half mile from the W. & G. street cars at 
Pennsylvania avenue and 24th, street n. w. The main building is on Peters' or Camp Hill, 
ninety-six feet above tide ; General "Washington desired to see a National University founded 
here. The Observatory was established in 1842, the central building completed in 1844, and in 
it, in 1873, was mounted the "Great Equatorial" telescope, weighing over six tons, costing 
$47,000, under an iron dome costing $14,000, and said to be one of the most powerful glasses in the 
world. The telescope is of steel, in three sections, thirty-two feet high, 
with an object glass of twenty-six inches clear aperture ; it is of American THE GREAT 
make, as is also the dome, which is forty feet high by forty-one feet in EQUATORIAL, 
diameter ; the instrument is run by water power. Tne library here is 
composed of about 15,000 works of the highest standard, some of which date well back into 
the fifteenth century. The ' ' Meridian of Washington' ' passes through the center of the dome, 
and from this point the time-ball is daily dropped at noon and the time thus communicated by 
telegraph to all parts of the Union. Standard clocks, chronometers, transits, etc., are also 
here. 

The New Naval, Observatory is nearing completion on a tract of sixty-two acres 
on the Tennallytown Road, about two-thirds of a mile north-west of Oak Hill Cemetery, 
Georgetown. It may be reached by the electric cars which connect with the W. & G. line. 
Here the view is commanding, and the buildings, commenced in 1887, will be a three hundred 
and seven by sixty-two feet main building, with a forty-five feet dome, a clock house, and 
several minor buildings, all of New Y'ork marble, erected at a cost of $400,000. It is de- 
signed to make this the most complete institution of its kind in the world. 

The Marine Barracks are on 8th between G and I Streets, s. e., on the line of 
theW. & G. streetcars. They were destroyed by the British in 1814, but were immediately 
rebuilt at a cost of $335,600. These are the Headquarters of the Marine Corps, created in 1798 
consisting of a Commandant, a staff of officers and ab»ut 2,500 men. The place is open to 
visitors daily until sunset ; there is a daily guard mount at 8 a. m. in the summer, 9 a. m. 
in winter, and a concert from the unexcelled Marine Band on Mondays at 1.30 to 3 p. m. during 
January to April, inclusive, and on Thursdays at 4.30 p. m. during May to October 1st. There 
are no concerts during October to January 1st; for concerts elsewhere, see page 43. Some 
interesting flags aud relics are in the Armory. 

The Navy Y'ard is at the foot of 8th Street s. e., about a half mile from the foregoing, 
may be reached in the same way, and is open daily until sunset. These grounds were laid out 
under order of the Department, December 1799, and the yard was formally opened in March 
1804. It covers about 28 acres and is a most interesting place to visit from the fact that here 
may be seen in progress most of the work of gun making, etc. The Museum of Naval Relics, 
open from 9 to 4, contains among other objects of interest a cannon cast in 1490, used by Cortez 
in his conquest of Mexico, a small mortar captured from Lord Cornwallis 1781, and numerous 



J HE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



51 



arms of odd design. The yard also eontaius trophies connected with our naval victories ; and 

the ordnance foundries, shot and shell factories, copper-mills, etc., are of 

great interest. Here, too, is the Experimental Battery, extending across the NAVAL 

channel to the targets near the Naval Magazine in the distance ; the receiving TROPHIES. 

ship for recruits ; and usually one or more dispatch boats, monitors or men 

of war. All will be explained by inquiring of the men who are on duty at the time. 

The Museum of Hygiene is at No. 1707 New York avenue and is worthy of a visit. 
Its name explains its scope. 




The Treasuiy Building.— South Front. 

THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT. 



■^^fc^' HE Treasury Department Building, just east of the Executive Grounds, occu- 
pies the square between loth street and Executive avenue, west, and Penn- 
sylvania avenue and E street, north. Its four fronts enclose a building of 
572 by 280 feet, three stories, and a basement and sub-basement, containing 
195 rooms above the ground level. The East Front, of Acquia freestone, 
was commenced under Robert Mills in 1836, and was ready for occupancy 
in 1841. In 1814 the building used by this Department was destroyed by the 
British, and at the point now covered by the south approach to the present EARLY 
structure another was erected at once ; this was consumed by fire, March 31, HISTORY. 
1833. The present site was chosen by President Jackson : a most unfortunate 
choice, as it completely shuts ofl' the view between the Capitol and the Executive Mansion. 




52 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 

In 1855 the extensions, of Maine granite, were commenced and carried forward under architects 
Walter, Young, Rogers, and Mullett ; the north front was the last portion finished, in 1869. 
It is of Ionic architecture, and the granite columns are thirty-one and one-half feet high, 
nearly four feet at the base, and monolithic, or of one solid stone each ; the total cost has 
been about $6,800,000. 

In the building, besides the Secretary of the Treasury's suite, are the otfices of the Super- 
vising Architect, Steam Boat Inspection, Life Saving Service, the First and Second 
Comptrollers, Commissioner of Customs and of Internal Revenue, Register, 
First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Auditors, Comptroller of the Currency, BUREAUX 
Director of the Mint, Bureau of Navigation, Light-House Board, Secret OF THE 

Service Division, and Treasurer of the United States. Only the last two DEPARTMENT 
bureaux are of special interest to the visitor, as such exhibits as would nat- 
urally belong to the others may best be seen at the National Museum. 

The suite of the Secretary is in the southeast corner of the building, second floor ; here, 
and in the adjoining corridors and Assistant's offices, are a gallery of the portraits of former 
Secretaries of the Treasury ; a view of these can be arranged for by the messenger 
at the door. Here permission can be obtained to inspect the Secret Service SECRET 
Division on the third floor, west corridor, where are a most interesting collection SERVICE 
of the plates and dies used by counterieiters, and a photographic " Rogues Gal- DIVISION, 
lery " of the noted criminals of this sort. A suit worn by a captured member 
of the infamous Ku Klux Klan is also here. In the northwest of the attic floor is a library of 
nearly 20.000 volumes, and the Light House Board also has a collection numbering 3,500 
volumes. 

At the office ot the Treasurer of the United States, east corridor, first floor, a guide will 
be sent with visitors to show the Cash Room, Vaults, and all portions of the money-handling 
divisions open to public inspection. The Cash Room, 72 by 32 feet and 27 feet high, 
is opposite the north entrance, the best view being from the interior balcony, with its THE 
graceful bronze railing. This is said lo be the most costly room of its kind in the CASH 
world ; its walls are decorated with black Vermont, Bardiglio Italian, dove Vermont, ROOM. 
Sienna Italian, Tennessee, white Italian, and Sarraugolum marbles ; the latter is 
from the Pyrenees, and has much the appearance of raw beef the worse for age. At one end 
is the Cashier's office and at the other the Vault Room ; in this is kept a reserve supply of cur- 
rency, etc., and $•40,000,000 may be therein, in various notes of issue, at one time. The silver 
vaults in the basement may be inspected ; the closed vaults, with a capacity of $215,000,000 in 
coin, are in the sub-basement. The most interesting portion of this Department is contained in 
the rooms of the money issuing and destruction divisions; these are in the basement. In the 
first the money, fresh from the printer, is counted ; 50,000 notes have been accurately counted 
by one expert in a day from 9 to 3 o'clock, or at the rate of 150 per minute. 

That the currency may be kept in a presentable condition the Government pays the 
expressage on all old notes returned for exchange for new ones ; great bundles of cash are con- 
stantly coming and going. The Assistant Treasurer at New York has sent 
here an average of $100,000 per week to be thus exchanged ; this will give CURRENCY 
someideaoftheexteutof this branch of the work. All notes so received REDEMPTION, 
are carefully counted, scrutinized for counterfeits, assorted and recounted 
by women, who, it is claimed, attain a proficiency in this work never reached by men. At 
one time the counterfeits detected by them ran as high as $350 per day ; all such are punctured 
by a steel punch with the word "Counterfeit" and returned to the sender. Beyond is the 
room lor mail redemption where the most filthy and dilapidated notes are 
received, accompanied by many a tale ot woe. ~ Some come from the bodies of MUTILATED 
drowned and murdered men ; others have been used by some drunken fool CURREIsCY, 
as cigar lighters; Paddy has put his lighted pipe in his pocket with this par- 
tially burned wad ; these were used as the lining of a mouse's nest, and these again were 



THE EXECiriVE DEPARTMENTS. 



53 



"swallowed by our red calf." A distressed Frenchman returns a tistful of minute scraps with 
the information that they "met with the accident of a little dog "; and cases where mutilated 
counterfeits are offered, which their makers thus seek to pass on Uncle Sam, are by no means 
unknown. All such must be restored as near as may to their original condition, and as hope- 
less as these tasks seem, it is rarely the case that the ruins are not finally 
identified and redeemed. Burnt notes are of frequent occurrence, and they BUKNT 

require the highest skill in handling and examination; a Mississippi Kiver CUliRENOY. 
boat, at the bottom for four or five years, produced on search |180,000in burnt 
and decayed notes, yet hardly a dollar's worth was lost to the owners. The Chicago and 
Boston fires kept this division busy for over two years. 

Such work as the foregoing is very severe by virtue of its mental strain (errors are 




Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 
charged against the salaries of the experts), the disease-breeding condition of the material 
handled, and the crowded quarters in which the work is done. The last room is that where 
the cancellation of the notes, in bundles of one hundred, is going on ; here they are cut in half, 
one end is sent to the Secretary's ofiice, the other to the Register, and when the accuracy of the 
count is thus finally verified in duplicate they are placed in the macerating machinery in the 
presence of a special committee, and much of this pulp is afterwards found at the fancy stores 
and book stalls for sale in the shape of "grandfather's hats," Washington Monuments, etc. 

When begun in 1834 it was thought that this building would be sufficient to accommo- 
date the Department for a century at least ; in a half century, so unprecedented had been the 
growth of this great Nation, that the twice-enlarged structure was inadequate, though six 
extensivebureaus were of necessity lodged elsewhere. Another of equal size would now be 



54 THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 

inadequate to house these ; what another century's growth will demand no one can safely 
predict. In the days immediately after the Declaration of Independence, a 
^500 salaried Secretary and a building of less then $10,000 cost was consid- GROWTH 

ered ample to rule and roof the infant department. A century has gone by OF THE 

and the infant is found to have outgrown a $7,000,000 house, and to have DEPARTMENT, 
worried over what to do with an unspent balance of $150,000,000. The tea- 
importing millionaire of New York, the moon-shiner of North Carolina, the stealthy greaser of 
the Mexican border, crossing into our domain with his bottle of aguardiente, the Esquimaux 
visiting Alaska with peltries, the Canadian huntsman entering Maine with his bundle of 
skunk skins, or the tabooed Chinaman seeking to cross our northwest border unobserved, all 
these and thousands more, little and big, must do homage to this mighty Department, and pay 
it tribute. No other branch of the public service so thoroughly illustrates the growth, the 
wealth and resources of our land. Yet great as is the work carried on under 
this roof, the Bureau of Statistics, 1335 E street, n. w., the Second Auditor, OUTSIDE 
17th and F streets, n, w., the Sixth Auditor, see page 56, the Marine Hospital BUREAUX 
Service, 1308 F street, n. w., the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Bureau of 
Engraving and Printing, and the Photograph Office are all located outside. The first three of 
these are of but little interest to the visitor, save that the first has a library of about 12,000 titles. 

The Coast and Gkodetic Sukvey is on New Jersey Avenue between B and C 
street*, s. e., in a fine brick building. This Bureau was originated in 1807, but remained 
unorganized until 1833 ; its objects are to survey our coasts and all tide waters, to issue tables 
and charts to pilots and mariners, and to conduct a general magnetic survey of the United 
States; it has charge of the Standard Weights and Measures. The rooms containing the latter, 
together with other curious instruments of precision, are of interest and will well repay a visit. 
Chart making, drawing, engraving, etc., may also be inspected here. 

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing. — Facing the Mall, on B between 14:th 
and 15th streets, s. w., is the handsome, fire-proof building of this Bureau, erected in 1879-80, 
at a cost of over $300,000 ; it is of Romanesque architecture, in brick, 220 by 135 feet. At the 
entrance application must be made for a proper attendant to conduct the visitor through the 
rooms open to the public and explain the interesting details of money and bond manufacture. 
Here the engraving and printing of bonds, notes, bank notes and Internal Revenue stamps 
can be seen ; and many matters of interest will be exhibited. 

The Photograph Building of the Supervising Architect's Office is on E street 
immediately facing the south front of the Treasury Building. In it are the plans and specifi- 
cations of public buildings throughout the country, and on the second floor the process of 
printing by photography the plans for buildings to be erected is carried on. 



THE POSTOFFICE DEPARTMENT. 

HE Postoffiee Department Building covers the lot bounded by Seventh and 
Eighth Streets, west, and E and F Streets, north, and occupies the site of the 
old " Blodgett Hotel," which was erected here in 1793 from the proceeds of 
an authorized lottery; it was here that the first theatrical entertainments were given. 
In 1810 Congress bought the building, and after the burning of the Capitol by 
the British, in 1814, held one session here ; later this Depai-tment on the ground 
floor, and the Patent Office above, occupied the building until its destruction, Decem- 
ber 15, 1836. In 1839, under Architect Robert Mills, the present building was com- 
menced on the south front, and the new extension, under Thomas U. Walter, General Meigs, 
and Edward Clark, was finished in 1869. It is of Corinthian architecture, of New York and 
Maryland marbles, cost over $2,700,000 ; is three hundred by two hundred and four feet, three 




THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



55 



stories high, and contains eighty-five commodious rooms. The number of postoffices in the 
country has increased six- fold since it was begun fifty years ago ; consequently it is now inade- 
quate and much of the business of the Department has to be discharged elsewhere. 

Over the Eighth Street carriage gate-way a carving represents " the iiailroad and the 
Telegraph ; '* the general appearance of the building strongly recalls memories of a Florentine 
palace. On the ground floor, on the south side, is the suite of offices of the Postmaster Gen- 
eral, in which is a coDection of crayon portraits of the Postmasters General since the founda- 
tion of the office. Here may be obtained permission to inspect the Dead 
Letter Office, on the third floor, where are many curious unclaimed THE DEAD 

aiticles, and the accounts kept by Franklin when Postmaster General LETTEK OFFICE, 
of the Colonies. The business of the Postoffice Department is carried 
on under four Assistant Postmasters General, the Sixth Auditor of the Treasury, who has 




Tliu I'ust Office Department. 
charge of the auditing of the accounts of this Department, and the Superintendents of 
the Railway Mail Service and Dead Letter Office, in this building. Outside are located the 
offices of the Money-Order System and of Foreign Mails, Eighth and E Streets, northwest, 
and the City Postoffice ; the first tvvo are of no special interest to visitors. 

The City Postoffice is on Louisiana Avenue, near Seventh Street, northwest ; and 
fourteen branches in different parts of the city facilitate the collection and delivery of the 
mails. The location of these can be ascertained from the City Directory. A lot has been pur- 
chased on the south sid6 of Pennsylvania Avenue, between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets, 
northwest, whereon it is proposed to erect a City Postoffice that shall be in harmony with the 
other buildings of the Capital. 



56 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



It will be interesting here, as showinej the enormous business of this Department to give 
a brief resume of the work carried on in the office of the Sixth Auditor of the 
Treasury, who has charge of these accounts. In his office are eleven divisions, SIXTH 

viz. : Examining, Postal Review, Registering, Bookkeeping, Collecting, Pay, AUDITOR'S 
Review, Inspecting, Checking, Recording, and Foreign divisions. The over OFFICE, 
sixty thousand postmasters in the country must all here submit their accounts ; 
yet of the $17,000,000 of payments audited in one year in the Money-Order division alone, only 
fifty-six (or $1,214;) were found to have been improperly made. The eighteen thousand mail 




Tlie Interior Depaitineut.— rateiit Office. 



routes, in the charge of seven thousand, two hundred contractors, call for over six hundred 
thousand entries, made in one hundred and seventeen ledgers. Here the far-reaching nature of 
the International Money-Order system is attested by the odd sight of clerks busy auditing ac- 
counts with Japan, and some of the South Sea Isles, where but a few years ago all ports were 
closed to foreign ships. This may fairly claim to be the largest auditing office in the world, for 
it is quite certain that no other such bureau conducts its business through over one hundred 
and seven thousand minor offices. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



57 



THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 

HE building of the Interior Department, usually called the Patent Office 
Building, is on the reservation formerly known as National Church 
Square, four acres, lying between Seventh and Ninth Streets, west, 
and F and G Streets, north. It is a beautiful and impressive building 
of Doric architecture, four hundred and ten by two hundred and seventy- 
five feet, and three stories and a basement high ; it contains over one 
hundred and ninety rooms and cost about $2,700,000. The centre, built 
of Acquia free stone, painted white, was commenced uuder Robert Mills in 1837, on 
ground which for a long time had been reserved for a Grand National Church. The 
additions, begun in 1849 and finished in 1864, are of Maryland white marble exteriorly 
and of granite on the interior quadrangle. It was originally intended for the use of 
the Patent Office alone, but the business of the bureaux that have of late years been 
added to the Interior Department has increased so rapidly that now besides the main 
Department offices the General Land Office is also located here. It is, however, only that portion 





Patent Office. -Model Hall. 



occupied by the Patent Office which is of interest to the public. These offices are on the second 
floor and galleries ; they contain about two hundred and ten thousand models arranged in glass 
cases, so as to be easily viewed, in continuous halls of superb construction, sixty-four feet wide, 



68 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



two being two hundred and seventy-one feet long and the other two one hundred and forty-five feet 
Having sustained heavy loss by two fires, the last doing incalculable harm, September 24, 
1877, the building is now believed to be fireproof. Here are many exceedingly interesting 
models of inventions in the early stages of steam, telegraphic, phonographic, agricultural, 
naval and other sciences ; such names as Fulton, Hoe, Edison, Bell and 
many others of equal note frequently occur on the cards with which all the INTERESTING- 
models are accompanied ; an improvement in inland ship navigation, by MODELS. 

Abraham Lincoln, is among tbe many curiosities. Attendants are at 
hand who will explain everything, and many days could be profitably spent here. On these 
floors are also the many ofiices of the Special Examiners and assistants of the thirty-two 
Divisions into which all patents are classified. This ofiice has a special library of great scien- 
tific worth of over fifty thousand volumes ; and the general library of the Interior Department 
contains about eleven thousand volumes in addition. Besides these bureaux the Interior De- 




Tlie Pension Office. 

partmeiit has charge of the following : The Commissioner of Railroads, in the Pension Build- 
ing, Judiciary Square ; the Census Office, Third and G Streets, northwest ; 
the Office of Indian Affairs, seventh floor, Atlantic Building, F Street, INTERIOR 
between Ninth and Tenth, northwest ; United States Pension Agency, 308 DEPARTMENT 
F Street, northwest ; and the Bureau of Pensions, Office of Education, BUREAUX, 
and the Geological Survey. Tbe first four of these are of no particular 
interest to visitors unless the Indian Office, with its portraits and the Census Office with its 
Hollerith electrical counting and classifying systems are excepted ; the latter three are each 
worthy of a visit. 

The Pension Office Building is in the north part of Judiciary Square, on G, be- 
tween Fourth and Fifth Streets, northwest. It is a large fireproof, brick and iron building, in 
the Italian renaissance style, four liundred by two hundred feet, with three stories and a central 
Clome; fifteen million bricks were used in its construction, and it cost about 6l,00i), 000. In- 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



59 



teriorly it is a handsome building, containing a main hall which reaches to the dome, and in 
which the Inauguration Balls of March 4, 1885 and 1889 were held ; this great hall will accom- 
modate eighteen thousand persons at a ball, and nearly sixty thousand can be crowded into it. 
Exteriorly the building has but one redeeming feature, the terra-cotta sculptured band which runs 
around the building at the second story level, twelve hundred feet long and three feet high, 
and which represents jNIilitary and Naval Campaigning ; otherwise a view of the structure 
forcibly reminds one of the remark attributed to the late General Phil. Sheridan, that "it is 
to be regretted that it is really fireproof." In this building an army of clerks is at work upon 
the vast array of pensions awaiting issuance or increase ; nine hundred thousand of these are 
said to have been on the books at one time. 

The Bt^rkatt ov Education is at the corner of Eightli and G Street'*, northwest- 




luterior of Pension Office.— luauguratiou Ball Room. 
opposite the north front of the Patent Office. This was established in 1867 with the "especial 
function of increasing the enlightened directive power of the people with regard to their 
schools." The library, of great value, has over one hundred and seventeen thousand volumes. 
The Geological, Survey is located in the Hooe Building, No. 1330 F Street, north- 
west, where the work of this, the greatest Survey of the kind ever undertaken, is carried on 
under Divisions of Geography, Mining Statistics, Technology, Paleontology, Topography, and 
Illustration. Here are to be seen many superb photographs of the scenic and other wonders 
of our varied country. The Library contains thirty thousand volumes, forty-two thousand 
pamphlets, and over twenty-two thousand maps. A large portion of the scientific staff con- 
nected with this Bureau is made up of specialists connected with the universities and colleges 
of the country, to whom material is sent for investigation and report. 



•60 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 




THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. 

HE Office of Attorney-General of the United States, created in 1797, was not until 
1870 placed in charge of a regular bureau ; in that year the Department pf Jus- 
tice was created. This is located on Pennsylvania avenue, between 15th and 15)^ 
streets, n. w., facing the United States Treasury. The building, originally erected 
for the Freedmen's Bank, was purchased by the Government in 1882, for 
$250,000 ; it is four stories and a mansard high, of Potomac Seneca stone, with 
darker trimmings. The ground floor is occupied by the U. S. Court of Claims, in 
session from the first Monday in December to May or June ; here is a fine Court Koom, 
back of the oifice of the Bailiff. The records of this court are many of them of great 
interest, and may be inspected by permission of the oificer in charge. 

The entrance at the west corner leads to the handsome suite of apartments occupied by 
the Attorney-General, second floor; their walls are adorned with a series of portraits of the 
Attorneys-General of the U. S. since the foundation of the office. Above are the necessary 
oflices for the four Assistant Attorneys-Gen- 
eral, six Assistant Attorneys, the Solicitor- 
General, Examiner of Titles, Chief Clerk, 
General Agent, records, etc., and on the fourth 
floor a fine library of over twenty thousand 
volumes ; all these rooms may be inspected 
by permission obtained through the messen- 
ger at the Attorney-General's otHce. This 
Department has subordinate to it the District 
and Circuit Courts of the U. S., the Reform 
School, the Metropolitan Police, the Court 
House, the Asylum and the Jail of the Dis- 
trict ; and the law officers who act as legal 
advisers to the Departments of the Interior, 
Post-Office, State, and Treasury. 

The Metropolitan Police are located 
at the corner of 6th and D streets, u. w., in a 
building once used for Unitarian worshij>. Department of Justice. 

The police of Washington are noted for their efficiency, and the District is famed for a remark- 
able degree of municipal order and attractiveness. 

The District Court Hou.se. — This building, usually known as the "City Hall," is 
in the southern part of Judiciary Square, on D street, facing 4>^ street, n. w. It is built of 
freestone ; was designed by George Hadfleld, though not commenced until 1820 and com- 
pleted in 1849, and is but one wing of the structure as originally designed. It is 250 by 180 feet, 
two stories and a basement high, with Ionic porticoes in front. The United States ai:d District 
Courts have here their offices and court rooms ; the west wing is now given up to the uses of 
the Civil IService Commissioners. In these latter rooms full information may be had concern- 
ing tlie Civil Service, such as present vacancies, the date and nature of examinations, eligi- 
bility of candidates ; and here, al^-o, at stated intervals, the local and special examinations are 
held. In the District Court lloom, just east of the centre of the building, was held the famous 
Guiteau trial, and there the assassin of Garfield was condemned to be hung. 

The Di.strict Jail. — This institution is on the reservation known as "Hospital 
Square," in the extreme eastern end of the city, 310 by 193 feet, four stories high, costing 
$343,000. It was begun in 1872, occupied in 1S75, and was the scene of the execution of Guiteau. 
Visitors may be shown through the jail, on application at the Warden's Office, every day, except 
Sundays, between ten and four. Nearby is tlie Washington Asylum. 




THE KXEiJUTfVE DEPAUT.UE.VrS. 



61 




and the 



THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

HE Ai^ricultural Department buildings and grounds are situated in the Mall, 
between the Smithsonian Institution and the Washington Monument, where l.'ith 
and A streets, s. w., would intersect, if carried out. The main building is of brick 
with brown-stone trimmings, 170 by (51 feet, three stories with a mansard roof and 
a basement; it was finished in 18(58 and cost $140,000. The ofiflces of the Secretary 
of Agriculture, Chief Clerk, Ornithologist, Pomologist, and Chemist are on the 
ground floor ; the first being in the west corridor, the front room, one door from the 
main entrance ; on this floor, also, are the Disbursing Ofiice and the Mineralogical 
Collection. On the second floor are the ofiices of the Botanist and the Entomologist; 
Liljrarv, fifteen thousand volumes ; the Museum of Botany, over one hundred and fifty 







^ i«r -, ^* |<; 2t^ 




Department of Agriculture. 

thousand specimens of pressed North American plants ; and the Museum of Agriculture, in 
which are exhibits of agricultural products, showing how climates, soils, mammals, birds and 
insects afl:ect them. This Museum, which is of great interest, is extended into an annex-build- 
ing near at hand ; all will be explained by attendants. The ofiices of the Microscopic, For- 
restry. Veterinary and Statistical Divisions are on the floors above. 

Near the main building are those of the Book and Seed Division, the Stables, four Propa- 
gating Houses for oranges, persimmons, olives, pine apples, and two for miscellaneous plants, 
the Conservatories, 320 by 30 feet, and the Kose House and Grapery. All these contain much 
that is of interest and should be carefully examined ; this Department is doing a work of great 
economic value and all citizens should familiarize themselves with its workings. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

JAMES SMITHSON, an Englishman, left at his death, in 1828, his entire 
propei'ty to an invalid nephew, with the proviso that in case of the 
nephew's death without heirs, it should come into the custody of the 
United States, " to found, at Washington, an establishment for the increase and 
diffusion of knowledge." After the death of the nephew Congress accepted the 
bequest in 183(i, and appointed Richard Kush a commissioner to collect the fund, 
which amounted to $535,169 ; it remained in the United States Treasury at interest 
until 1846. Oq May 1, 1847, the corner-stone of the building was laid. President 
Polk and Cabinet being present and George M. Dallas delivering the oration. This build- 





Miiiilisdiihm liisUiutioii. — NoiUnvrst view. 



ing, which is on the Mall, facing 10th street, s. w., can be reached by the cars on 12th street, 
or 7th street ; it is but a short walk from Pennsylvania avenue. It was finished in 1856 at a 
cost of $450,000, and consists of a central building 250 by 55 feet, two connecting ranges 60 by 
49 feet and two terminating cross wings 80 by 40 feet ; the total length is 447 feet and the greatest 
breadth 160 feet. It is of Twelfth Century Norman architecture ; the nine towers of varying 
heights, the highest being 145 feet, are a pleasing feature. In 1865 a fire resulted in much dam- 
age to the collections on the second floor, and the building was reconstructed on a fire-proof 
plan ; the material is a dark red sandstone. 

The Institution is in charge of a Board of Regents of which the Chief Justice of the United 
States is Chancellor and the President of the United States is an ex-officio member. Asecre- 



THE EXECVTTVK DEPAIiTMEXTS. 



63 



tary is appointed by them, oue who has an acknowledged standing in the scientific worhl, and 
under him the work of the Institution is carried on ; this work consists 
largely of the management of the National Museum, under an assistant sec- THE; WORK 
retary ; the Bureau of Ethnology ; the publication of scientific serials and OF THE 

■occasional monographs ; and the collection of material for and aiding in the INSTITUTION, 
work of specialists in various fields. In common with the Fish Commis- 
sion, the Government Printing Office, etc., the Smithsonian Institution reports directly to Con- 
gress and is not a bureau of one of the departments. The entire east wing of the building is 
•occupied by the executive otlices and the library, which contains about 250,000 volumes and 
pamphlets ; the great bulk of the latter is on deposit with the Library of Congress. 

Entering at the north front, the main Hall contains the collection of shells, one of the 
best representative collections in America. Here in cases along the walls is also a fine 

n 




National Museum.— Nortli Frcmt. 

collection of birds, about eight thousand three hundred in number. The gal- THE FIRST 
leries in this room are used by the curators and their assistants as otfices and FLOOR, 
laboratories, and from them hang many fine illustrations of bird-life. The 
rooms to the west contain the collections of marine life, fishes, etc. In the south-wing are a set 
of standard weights and measures and a display of instruments of precision. 

Both walls of the stairways in the north front are covered with casts of prehistoric Mex- 
ican picture writings ; these and casts of the great Sacrificial Stone and the Calen- 
dar Stone, as well as some idols, are of special interest. In the upper hall are a THE 
large collection of relics from the mounds and buried cities of the American SECOND 
Indians, Aztecs, Mayas, Tncas, etc. In the western end of this room are reproduc- FLOOR. 



64 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



tions to scale of the Arizona and New Mexico pueblos and cave-towns. This is the finest 
collection of relics of prehistoric American man in the world ; it is under the general super- 
vision of the Bureau of Ethnology. 

The National Museum. — As early as 1846 steps looking toward the establishment 
of a National Museum were taken, but it was not until the time of the Centennial, 1876, that it 
became apparent that the valuable material in arts and sciences, donated to the United States by 
foreign governments and exhibitors, would require a very commodious building for their display. 
With this in view the present structure, M'hich is on grounds adjoining the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution on the east, was finished in 1879. It is a brick building three hundred and twenty-seven 
feet square, covering nearly two and one-half acres, in the form of a Greek cross with the 
spaces between the wings of the cross filled in with somewhat lower buildings, and with four 
corner and four double intermediate towers in which the various offices and work rooms are 
located, over one hundred and thirty in all ; in the center rises a dome one hun- 
dred and eight feet high. The building is universally conceded to be one of the HISTORY 
best for its purpose in the world ; its cost, exclusive of the very expensive and OF THE 
complete museum furniture which it contains, was $250,000. Here, on its com- MUSEUM, 
pletion, were brought the treasures of the Patent Oflice Museum, those that had 
been accumulating in the Smithsonian Building, those from the Centennial Exhibition, valued 
at $800,000, and many lievolutionary relics as well as those of the later wars. It is not the 
scientist alone whose needs are consulted, though his requirements are here met to an unusual 
degree, but to the tyro in observation, as well, by means of a natural and obvious arrangement 
and a most complete and full system of labels and accompanying handbooks, this Museum 
becomes an open storehouse of tlie facts in the life of Man, his natural environment and his 

-SupHs Office aiul Bureau of 
luformation. 

-Engineer, Chemical and Label 
Departments. 

-Director's Offices. 

-Departments of Materia Me- 
dlca and Ethnology. 

-Dep' ts of Rocks and Property. 

—Dep't of Minerals. 

—Dep't of Mammals and Inver- 
tebrate Fossils. 
-Dep't of Fossils. 

-Dep't of Insects. 

-Cafe, and Modeler' s Office. 

— Dep' ts of Food and Textiles, 
and Fisheries. 

-Chemical Laboratory. 

—Library. 

-Mechanical Laboratory. 

-Public Comfort for Ladles. 

-Dep't of Birds and Eggs. 

-Crawford's "Freedom" and 
Fish Basin. 

-Collection of Gems. 
-Washington Relics. 
-Lincoln Relics. 
-Grant Relics. 
-Collection of Snakes. 
-Great Whale. 
-Food Allowance. 
-Public Comfort for Men. 



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THE TiXEGVTlVE JjEPARTMEXTS. 



65 



artificial «inToiunli»g<. To attempt here siii adequate clescri|)tion of the wonders of this 
institution would overtax the entire space of this little work ; it is only possible to indicate 
the arrangement of the halls and rooms in the building by means of the accompanying diagram, 
and to call attention to a few unique features or displays that may easily be overlooked ; the 
letters or figures in parentheses, Ibllowing any such references, are those used in the diagram. 

Every case is connected by electric alarm with the Superintendent's Office (A), and an 
elaborate telephone and alarm system connects this buildingand those of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, Agricultural Department, Army Medical Museum and Fish Commission in a private 
circuit. In the most western of the halls devoted to Minerals is a very valuable collection of 
Gems (1), said to be the most complete in the U. S. ; in the Main Hall adjoining 
the entrance are the War Relics, those of Washington (2), Lincoln (:3) and Grant THE 

(4) being ot especial interest ; besides those brought from the Patent Office and EXHIBITS, 
luanv acquired by donation there are §50,000 worth of the Washington relics 
which were Iimij-ht b\' » 'oiiL'ress from his heirs. Under the Dome stands the plaster model of 

Crawford's Statue of Freedom 
which surmounts the Dome of 
the Capitol, and surrounding 
its base is a pool stocked with 
gold and other tish. The Bo- 
tanical Collections under the 
care of the Museum are in the 
Agricultural Department 
Muilding, and the collections 
of Birds, Shells, Marine Life, 
and American Antiquities are 
for the most part in the Halls 
of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion. In tlie Department of 
Mammals this Museum is 
especially excellent ; the re- 
markably life-like reproduc- 
tions are due to an amount of 
care and precision which 
originated here. Clay models 
are made of the freshly flayed 
animals, and the skins are 
replaced over these ; in addi- 
tion all the artistic realism 
>,arioual Museum. -Skeleton Hall. that comes from a close study 

of these creatures in their native haunts, and from instantaneous photographs of their most char- 
acteristic attitudes, combined with the naturalist's love of his work, have resulted in an unap- 
proached collection of the American mammals. The large turtles are reproduced in papier- 
mache and the snakes (5) in plaster; the latter make a most unique and realistic collection. 
Perhaps no object in the Museum more fully illustrates the care to reach perfection in detail 
and educative completeness than does the model of a whale hanging overhead in the Hall of 
Mammals (6). This creature was reported stranded on Cape Cod ; a detachment from the 
Zoological Corps was dispatched, with three carloads of plaster of Paris. Moulds were made 
of the animal in its natural position, and the skeleton was secured ; from the former a hollow 
papier-mache model, correctly colored, was made of one side, and in this, in its due relation to 
the whole, was mounted the skeleton ; nothing could well exceed this for giving a comprehen- 
sive idea of the outer appearance and bony structure of this monster. In the exhibits of 
Materia Medica are an instructive collection of Food Allowance (7), together with accurate 




te 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 



reproductions of the nature and quantities of the various constituents of the human body, its 
daily consumption and expenditure. In addition to these hasty notes the diagram contains a 
clear indication of where certain exhibits are likely to be found, though the present somewhat 
crowded condition of these halls makesa certain amount of overlapping of departments necessary. 
The Bureau of Ethnology.— This Bureau was organized in 1879 and placed under 
the direction of the U. S. Geological Survey, though in no way associated with that work, but 
is under the general supervision of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Its work 
covers the whole field of North American Ethnology from Panama to Ala.ska, and its valu- 
able collections are, so far as room is afforded, on exhibition in the Smithsonian Building and 
the National Museum ; its collection of aboriginal American pottery, now in the latter, is nota- 
bly the largest and finest in existence. 




THE FISH COMMISSION. 

HE Fish Commission occupies a brick building in the so-called Armory 
Square, in the Mall, between 6th and 7tli streets, s. w., just to the east of 
the Army Medical Museum ; this building was a District Armory, 
but was turned into a hospital during the war. The Fish Commission 
was given partial possession about twelve years ago, and in 1889, when 
it was largely remodelled internally, entire possession. The first Hoor, 
fitted up chietly for hatching purposes, contains a series of aquaria, a 
machine shop, etc. The principal fish hatched here is the shad, the eggs of which are 
obtained from the important fisheries on the Potomac. During the shad hatching 
season, in the late spring, large numbers of eggs are handled here, and may be seen 
in all stages of development. They are hatched in glass jars, several hundred being 
kept in constant operation ; these jars, connected by glass and rubber tubes with the 
water supply, are automatic in their action, the fry after hatching 
being carried by the outflow into large aquaria. They are then transferred to FISH 

the shipping cans and sent to different rivers for planting, by means of the car HATCH ING. 
service. This is a time of great activity, the work progressing rapidly, and 
there is much of interest for visitors, who then have the opportunity to observe all the processes 
of hatching and all stages of the embryo, from the transparent egg to the young fish swarming 
ji countless numbers in the large aquaria. During the winter eggs of other species are hatched 
at this station, but not upon so large a scale. Among these are lake white fish, salmon and trout. 
On this same floor are exhibited many kinds of hatching apparatus, forming an historical 
series of much interest. Here also are shown the different kinds of fishways used to overcome 
obstructions in the rivers, such as dams and falls. One corner of the room is given up to large 
aquaria for fresh water fishes, among v^fhich there are generally on exhibition 
seyeral species of salmon, different varieties of German carp, large ornamental ISIODELS 
gold fishes, and a great variety of other forms, some interesting from their AND 

peculiar shapes or antique pedigree, as gar pikes and mud fishes. The principal AQUARIA, 
aquarial display, however, is contained in two grottoes, in which the light 
is arranged to the very be.st advantage. The smaller of these is devoted entirely to fresh 
water, and is used for the smaller fishes, snails, mussels, crayfishes, etc. The larger is of chief 
interest, however, and contains principally salt water species of fishes and invertebrates. Many 
different forms are here exhibited, from the low types of corals and sea anemones to active and 
graceful fishes, whose unceasing movements are a great attraction to all. Tlie present 
arrangement is intended to afford opportunity for studying the habits of fislies and for 
illustrating the work of the Commission, and in view of the interest which it has aroused it is 
hoped that Congress may soon see fit to enlarge and perfect the display. Forced in at the 



THE EXBCUTIVE DEPARTMEyTS. 



6T 



surface of the water of each aquarium, 
uuder heavy pressure, sufficient air is 
carried in with the water to insure a 
perfect aeration ; ajudicious assortment 
of plants also add their oxygen to the 
water, as well as beauty to the display. 
On the second and third floors of the 
building are the main offices of the 
Commission, the scientific laboratories, 
etc., where the visitor will tiud nothing 
of special interest. 

The cars, some times to be seen in the 
adjacent yard and open to inspection, 
have been built expressly 
for carrying fish and for THE 
hatching their eggs. CARS. 
Fitted with Pullman 
trucks, several sleeping berths for the 
employees, with large compartments 
afibrding accommodation for the stor- 
age of the fish, with an artificially 
cooled or heated circulation of water, 
all the arrangements are so perfect that 
the most delicate fishes have been car- 
ried from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

Collections illustrating the general 
work of the Commission are exhibited in 
the National Museum. 
In the Museum building MUSEUM 
proper is alarge part of the DISPLAY 
exhibit which created so 
much interest at the London Fisheries 
Exposition, drawing so many prizes ; 

the models of fishing boats and of the Naval or Peace Mouumeut. 

Commission's steamers, Albatross and Fish Hawk, and specimens of the whale tribe. The 
fishes and other aquatic animals collected by the Commission, or representing its work, will be 
found in the Smithsonian Building. 

The ponds of the Commission near the Washington Monument, established primarily for 
the German carp, are of great interest. Tench, golden ide and gold fish are also propagated 
there, and with rare water lilies and other aquatic plants of many sorts, the ponds are orna- 
mental and attractive. 




THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

THIS, the largest printing and book-binding establishment in the world, is located at the 
corner of H and North Capitol sts., in a building 300 feet on H st. and 173 feet on North Capi- 
tol St., 50 feet deep and four stories high. Here is put forth all that vast array of publications 
which annually issues from Congress, the Executive Departments and the Judiciary. A mes- 
senger will always be found in readiness to escort the visitor through the interesting portions 
of the establishment, explaining the details in full. Vast as are its accommodations for rapid 
output, with an army of book-makers, exceeding two thousand, the size of the place is quite 
inadequate and new and greatly improved quarters are likely to be the order of the near future- 




HEN" Washington was first laid out, seventeen reservations were set 
aside for Government use. Since then, at certain avenue cross- 
ings, circles, places and parks have been laid out and decorated. 
Among these the following will be found described under the 
statues of the same name: Farragut and McPherson Squares, 
Dupont, Scott, Thomas and Washington Circles. lowaCircleis 
to be the site of the Logan Statue, and Stanton Square is described 
witli the Greene Statue. Their total area is about eight and one- 
half acres. 
The Arsenal Grounds. See "Washington Barracks," page 48. 
The Botanic Gardens. — Facing the Capitol Grounds, on ten acre.«, between 1st and 
3rd streets, west, these gardens contain an interesting series of rare plants from all climes. Up 
to 1849 this region was given up to swamps and backwater, and even yet tidewater rises and 
falls in the old Tiber Creek sewer, which flows beneath. The first buildings were erected here 
in 1850, The Conservatory, erected in 1867, is 300 feet long, 31 feet wide, Avith a central 
rotunda sixty-one feet in "diameter. In its difterent apartments varying temperatures are 
maintained, and an unusually successful attempt is thus made to reproduce tropical conditions 
and plant life. Just north of the Conservatory is the Bartholdi Fountain, which after the 
Centennial, 1876, was bought by Congress for $6,000. South of it are the office and residence 
of the Superintendent, and beyond propagating and forcing hot-houses. 

The visitor will receive prompt and courteous information, and the garden will well 
repay a morning's visit, especially if it be during warm weather. The visitor will do well to 
have the Su)ierintendent explain to him the mysteries of the house devoted to pitcher and other 
insectiverous plants, of which he has made a special study. From the observatory on the 
rotunda of the Conservatory, a fine view of the plants below, the Capitol and Mall can be had. 
Centre Market Square. — On this reservation, between 7th and 9th sts., west, and 
B and C sts., north, Congress, in 1870, authorized the erection of Centre Market. It occupies 
70,818 square feet, with a three-storied building, several towers, and 14,000 feet with covered 
sidewalks ; there are six hundred and sixty-six stalls and accommodations for three hundred 
M-agons ; it has a three-sided frontage of seven hundred and forty feet, and a width of eighty- 
two feet. Store rooms, artificially refrigerated, add greatly to its value ; it cost $600,000. 
Decatur Circle.— At the crossing of Pennsylvania Avenue with 23d st., u. w^ 
Eastern Market Square.— North of the Navy Yard at 7th and C sts., s. e., two 
reservations of two acres are occupied by a market house. 

Franklin Square.— Between 13th and 14th sts., and I and K sts., n. w. Purchased 
by Congress, 1829, on account of a fine spring from which the President's Mansion is supplied. 
Hospital Square. — See District Jail, page 60. 

Judiciary Square.— Twenty-five acres, between 4th and 5th sts., west, and I) and 
G sts,, north. On it are the U. S. Court House, the Pension Office and the Lincoln Column. 

Lafayette Square. — Seven acres, and immediately north of the Executive Mansion. 
Here are statues of Jackson and Lafayette; the missing tree on the sidewalk at the southeast 
corner is where General Siekels shot and killed District-Attorney Barton Key. 
Lincoln Park. — See Emancipation Statue. 



PARKS AXD STATUES. 



69 



The Mal,i^. — All of the continuoim 
Grounds at 1st st., n. w., to the Momiiuent Pai 
prises the Botanical Gar- 
dens, the grounds of the 
Fish Commission, the Ka- 
tional ]\Iuseuui, Smithson- 
ian Institution, the Army 
Medical IMuseum and the 
Agricultural Department. 
In it are the Henry Statue 
and the Commemorative 
Vase erected by the Ameri- 
can Horticultural Society 
to the memory of A. J. 
Downing, to whose taste the 
city is indebted for the 
beauties of this and several 
other of its most beautiful 
parks. 



]iark area whicli stretches from the Capitol 
V at 14th St., is known as "The Mall." Itcom- 
IMONUMENT Park. — 
Bounded by 14th st. , west, 
B St., uorlh, and the Po- 
tomac basins. This park, 
twenty-nine acres, is oc- 
cupied ))y the Washing- 
ton Jlonunient, the 
Bureau of Printing and 
Engraving, and the Fish 
^Jommission's propagat- 
ing ponds. 

Mt. Vernon Place. 
— Where Massachusetts 
and New York Avenues 
join 8th and K sts., n. w., 
is this park of nearly two 
acres. 



Brown's Scott. 



Eawlins Square. 
At the crossing of New 
York Ave. and E, 18th, 
and 19th sts., n. w. 

Seward Place. — 
This park of four trian- 
gles is at the intersec- 
tion of Pennsylvania 
and North Carolina 
avenues with 5th and 
C sts. , s. e. 




1.— MiUs' WasliingCou. 

3.-Mills' 



2.— Kobisso's McPliersou. 
Jackson. 



Brown's Greene. 

Town-House Sq. 
South of the Capi- 
tol, where New Jer- 
sev North and South 
Carolina, and Vir- 
ginia avenues inter- 
sect, a park of twenty 
acres has been laid 
out and will here- 
after be called "Gar- 
field Park." 



70 



PARKS AND STATUES. 




STATUES AND MONUMENTS. 

'he following is a description of the oiit-door statues and moaunients ; those 
within buildings will be found described in their appropriate places. 

The Dupont Statue. — In Dupont Circle, at 19th and P sts., n. w., 
stands Thompson's bronze statue of Rear-Admiral Samuel Francis Dupont. 
Ordered by Congress, 1882 ; erected 1884 ; cost $14,200, pedestal $6,800. 

The Emancipation Statue. — One mile east of the Capitol, in Lincoln 
Park, at E. Capitol and 12th sts., is Ball's bronze group of "Emancipation," 
cast in Munich; weighs .H,000 pounds ; cost $17,000. Unveiled April 14, 1876, on 
the eleventh anniversary of Lincoln's assassination ; represents our martyred president with 

outstretched hand, proclaiming free- 
dom to a liberated slave, kneeling at 
his feet, with broken fetters ; twelve 
feet high on a Virginia granite base, 
ten feet. Erected by contributions 
from freedmen ; the first, $5.00, from 
Charlotte Scott, ,a Virginia ex-slave, 
and her first earnings in freedom. 

The Faeragut Statue. — In 
Farragut Square, at 13th and I sts., 
n. w., stands Vinnie Ream Hoxie's 
colossal bronze statue of Admiral 
David Glasgow Farragut; cost $20,000. 
Unveiled April 25, 1881 ; on a granite 
pedestal, $5,000, twenty feet high ; 
figure ten feet high ; the metal from 
which it was cast was from the Admi- 
ral's flag-ship, the "Hartford." 

The Franklin Statue. — At the 
intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue 
with 10th and D sts. , n. w. , is the statue 
of Benjamin Franklin, " Philosopher, 
Statesman, and Printer"; designed 
by Plassman, executed by Jouvenal ; 
presented, 1889, by Stillson Hutchins. 
The figure is eight feet six inches, on a 
granite pedestal, eleven feet. 

The Garfield Statue. — At the 
Maryland Avenue entrance to the 
Capitol Grounds, west, stands Ward's 
bronze statue of James A. Garfield. Erected by Garfield's comrades of the Army of the Cum- 
berland, May 12, 1887, cost $33,500; heroic in size, weighs 5,000 pounds, stands on a granite 
pedestal of eighteen feet, and represents him in his customary attitude when speaking before the 
House of Representatives. The pedestal, a work of great merit, cost Congress $31,500 ; it is 
circular with three butresses surmounted by recumbent life-size figures in bronze ; these repre- 
sent a student, a warrior, and a statesman, typifying the three walks of life in which Garfield 
shone. Above these are emblematic shields with the book and globe, the sword and trumpet, 
and the scales and laurel wreath, in relief. 

The Greene Statue. — At 5th and C sts., n. w., is Stanton Place, where stands 
Brown's bronze equestrian statue of Major-General Nathaniel Greene, Continental Army, 




Statue of Lafayette. 



PARKt^ AND STATUES. 



71 



€rected 1877, $50,000, in fal61inenD of a vote of the Contineatal Congress nearly a century before. 

The Henky Statue. — In the Mall, immediately northwest of the Smithsonian, stands 
Story's semi-heroic bronze statue of Prof. Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian. 
The only statue of a natural historian in the city ; erected by Congress in 18S1 ; cost 815,000. 

The Jackson Statue. — Immediately north of the Executive Mansion, in Lafayette 
Square, is Mills' bronze equestrian statue of General Andrew Jack.son. Unveiled Januarys, 
1853, Stephen A. Douglas delivering the oration ; it is of metal from the mortars captured 
from the British by Jackson, cost $50,000, weighs fifteen tons. 

The Lafayette Statue.— Near the foregoing stands the colossal statue of the Mar- 
quis de Lafayette surrounded by his compatriots, the Count de Koehambeau and the Chevalier 
Duportail, of the Continental Army, and the Counts D'Estaing and DeGrasse, of the French 
Navy, -who rendered valuable services as our allies in the closing years of the War for Inde- 
pendence. It is the joint work of the famous 
French sculptors Falquiere and Mercie ; unveiled 
in 1890 ; the surmounting figure of Lafayette is ten 
feet high, subordinate figures nine feet, total 
height forty-five teet. In front, America oflers the 
victor's sword to Lafayette and points to the in- 
scribed shield ; on the back are allegorical figures 
and the inscription. This is the most satisfactory 
and artistic production of its kind in the city. 
' The Lincoln Column. — In front of the U. S. 
Court House, Judiciary Square, stands a marble 
column twenty-seven feet high on which is Lot 
Flannery's bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, 
erected by private contributions. 

The Luther Statue. — Immediately north of 
the Thomas statue, 14th and N sts., n. w., stands 
Heitschel's statue of Martin Luther. Cast from 
the model tised for the central tigure of the Luther 
Memorial at Worms, Germany ; erected, at a cost 
of $10,000, May 21, ISSi, in commemoration of 
the four hundredth anniversary of his birth, Novem- 
ber 10, 1483. 

The Marshall Statue. — At the foot of the 
west stairway to the Capitol Terrace is Story's heroic 
bronze statue of John Marshall, Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court, 1801-35. Erected, 1884, by 
Congress and the Bar Association of the U. S., at 
a cost of $40,000. The eminent jurist sits in the 
Chief Justice's Chair delivering an opinion ; the 

granite pedestal contains bassi rilievi of Wisdom (iarfiild :statin . 

dictating the Constitution to America, and Commerce, Education and Agriculture iu one panel, 
and Victory bringing America to the altar of the Union in the other. 

The McPherson .Statue.— At 15th and I sts., n, w., is Mcpherson Square, in which 
stands llobisso's bronze equestrian statue of General J. B. McPherson, cost $23,500 for the 
statue and §25,000 for the pedestal, by the Army of the Tennessee and Congress. 

The Naval Monument, commemorating the services of the Union Navy in the late 
war, stands at the Pennsylvania entrance to the Capitol Grounds, west ; it is the design of 
Franklin Simmons, was erected, 1878, at a cost of $21,000 to the ofiicers and men of the navy 
and marine corps, and of $25,000 for the figure of Peace, the granite pedestal and fountain, to 
Congress. It is forty feet high, surmounted by bronze figures of History pointing out the 





THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 



PARKS AND STATUES. 73 

inscription on the tablet, "They died that their country might live," to America, who is weep- 
ing ; beneath. Victory, holding a conqueror's wreath in her uplifted hand, with youthful figures 
of Neptune and Mars at her feet, stands on one side of the column, while Peace, on the other 
with emblematic olive branch and dove, is surrounded by the products and implements of 
husbandry. This is often, though erroneously, called the "Peace Monument." 

The Kawlins Statue.— At Pennsylvania Avenue and 9th st., n. w., is Bailey's 
bronze statue of General John llawlins. Grant's Chief-of-StaflF and Secretary of War at his 
death, in 1869. Erected in 1873, the principal cost of the work, §10,000, being borne by his 
friends ; cast from guns captured in battles in which the General took part ; eight ieQ\ in 
height, on a pedestal of granite, twelve feet ; weighs 1,400 pounds. 

The Scott Statue.— In Scott Circle, at Kith and N sts., n. w., stands Browne's 
bronze equestrian statue of General Winfield Scott, erected by Congress in 1874 ; cost $20,000 
for the statue and §53,000 for the pedestal. Cast from cannon captured by Scott in Mexico, 
weighs 12,000 pounds, fifteen feet high, on a pedestal fourteen feet, of five blocks of Cape Ann 
granite, weighing over 320 tons ; the largest, said to be the heaviest block of stone quarried in 
the U. S., is twenty-six feet long, thirteen wide, two thick, weighs over 119 tons, cost §25,000. 

The Thomas Statue.— At 14th and M sts., n. w., in Thomas Circle, stands Ward's 
bronze equestrian statue of Major-General George H. Thomas, thought by many to be the finest 
equestrian statue in the country. Erected, 1879, by the Army of the Cumberland, cost $40,000, 
on a granite pedestal of sixteen feet, costing Congress §25,000 ; four bronze lamp posts, §4,000! 

The Wa-shikoton Monument.— By act, August 7, 1783, Congress authorized an 
" Equestrian Statue, at the place where Congress should be established^ in honor of George 
Washington, the illustrious Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States of America." 
In 1795 it was proposed to erect a memorial to be called the " Monument to the American Revo- 
lution," and the present site was then chosen by Washington so as to be at the right angle of a 
triangle which should have the Capitol and the Executive Mansion for the other corners. On 
December 24, 1799, just after Washington's death, a resolution passed for the 
erection of a marble monument, and requesting his family to allow his body to EAELY 
be placed thereunder at its completion. To this Martha Washington replied, HISTORY, 
acquiescing in the request on the ground that this " sacrifice of individual feel- 
ing " was required by her "sense of public duty." Kothing, however, was done in this 
direction, and not until certain citizens of Washington, under the presidency of Chief Justice 
John Marshall, formed themselves, September 26, 1833, into the "Washington Monument 
Society" was interest in the matter again awakened. July 4th, 1848, the corner-stone was laid 
for a structure designed by and under the care of Architect Robert Mills. Twenty thousand 
persons witnessed the Masonic ceremonies as the corner-stone, twelve tons, was placed in posi- 
tion. In it were an account of the ceremonies and over a hundred difl:erent articles, among 
which were histories, maps, Masonic records, etc. The chair, apron and implements of the 
Master Ma&on were those used by Washington in laying the corner-stone of the Capitol, Sep- 
tember 18, 1793. The address was delivered by Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts. Work 
progressed until 1855, when it stopped for want of funds, at 156 feet four inches above the 
surface level. 

Though the matter was frequently taken up in Congress, the Monument stood in this 
unfinished state— a " monument to the ingratitude of Republics," until August 2, 1876, when 
a joint committee of Congress and the old society was created for the purpose of completing the 
structure. The preliminary examinations, April, 1897, showed the foundations 
to be inadequate to sustain the added weight. Even at that height an inclina- LATER 
clination of 1.4 inches was observable. Three years were consumed in re-iuforc- HISTORY, 
ing the foundations by means of tunnels dug beneath the structure and then filled 
with hydraulic cement ; at the s-ame time the nortliwest inclination was thus rectified. August 
7, 1880, saw the first stone of the continuation laid by President Hayes, and from that time to 
the laying of the 5, 000-pou lid key-stone, November 18, 1884, progressed rapidly. The walls 



74 



PARKS AM) STATUES. 



rose in 1880, 26 feet ; 1881, li feet ; 1882, 90 feet ; 1883, 70 feet, and 90 feet together with tlie L5 
feet of capping in 1884. The wall, which was 25 feet square in the old part, was increased to 
31 feet six inches in the new. On December 6, 1884, the cajj-btone, 3,300 pounds, was set, and 
saluted by cannonading ; this is terminated by the apex, a conical block of American aluminum, 
9}4 inches high, 5)^ inches square at the base, weighing 100 ounces, and costing §225. Whiter 
than silver and free from a tendency to corrode, this tip on clear days glistens like a huge 
diamond. The finished structure was accepted by the Government and dedicated with impres- 
sive ceremonies, February 21, 1885, as the 22d — the one hundred and fifty-third anniversary of 
Washington's birth — fell on the Sabbath. Robert C. Winlhrop, the orator at the corner-stone 
laying 37 years before, was again i^resent, and a grand military and civic parade followed. 

The finished obelisk, 525 feet4>^ inches above the 
foundations, and 592 feet 2 inches over all, cost the 
society that first had it in charge $230,000, and 
Congress, since their time, $887,710, making the 
total cost, counting subsequent grading, etc., about 
$1,200,000. It is the highest work of masonry on 
the globe, and only excelled by the Eifiel tower in 
Paris, a skeleton frame of iron. It weighs 81,120 
tons (162,240,800 pounds), over eighteen times as 
much as the Capitol dome, or 2 pounds 9 ounces for 
every man, woman and child in the U. S. This is 
supported on 16,000 square feet of foundation 
concrete and masonry ; it is known 
to have settled over 4 inches during SIZE 
' the building of the new portions. AND 

I The outer surface of the old structure WEIGHT. 
is of Maryland marble, or "alum 
stone," against a wall, 15 feet thick at the base, of 
common rubble. The new portion is mainly of the 
best granite faced with white marble, until the walls 
become so thin, at about 450 feet, that it was econo- 
mical to finish them in solid marble ; they finally 
taper to 18 inches. In the interior eight iron col- 
umns run from top lo bottom, four supporting the 
stairways and four used as elevator guides. These 
are connected ^^ith the aluminum tip and extend 
lielow the foundation so as to aflbrd the best possi- 
ble protection against lightning. 

Some interesting side-items of history are con- 
nected with this mammoth shaft. During the 
days of the Know-nothing agitation Pope Pius IX 
presented to the Monument a Society beautiful 
cube of African marble from the Temple of Concord, inscribed "Rome to America." A 
Ealtimore dominie issued an "address to the Protestants of America " urging them to object 
to its reception ; this resulted in an attack on the guard by a party of masked men, Sunday, 
March 5, 1854, who succeeded in seizing the stone, and so efiectually hiding it that a reward 
of $500 was not sufficient to lead to its recovery. The following year the 
books and papers of the Society were seized by the adherents of the Amer- SOME SCRAPS 
ican party and most of them were lost ; this resulted in the almost complete OF 

disappearance of the original plans ana measurements. When work was HISTORY, 
resumed in 1880 a rigger climbed up the 150 feet of rope which had been 
hanging there since 1855. Having done this, each foot of his way being more dangerous and 




Lii.Klii ( 1 111 ;,i.iii raid. Statue. 



PARKS AND STATUES. 75 

difficult by the added weight of new rope which he carried up with him, he unfastened the old 
and threw it to the ground ; so rotten had it become by age that it was broken into many 
pieces with the force of falling. Great care was taken to avoid accidents, and during the build- 
ing of the new portion a strong net was stretched around the outside to catch any one who 
might carelessly step oft". In May, 1884, the writer ascended to the unfinished top and noticed 
that some of the workmen, after their noon-day meal, took a nap in this net, 
500 feet from the ground directly under them ; yet one broken arm was the AECHITECT- 
only casualty that was reported during the construction. When it was URAL MERIT, 
decided to abandon the original design and erect a plain,' unadorned shaft, 
severe criticism by the architects of the country was indulged in. Said W. W. Story, the 
famous sculptor, "This form of monument is the refuge of incompetency in architecture; 
when an architect has no ideas he resorts to the obelisk." Yet it must he urged in reply that 
the simple shaft, overtopping all rivalry, better represents to-day the character which the 
American public ascribe to their first President, than the ornate design which Story urged 
upon the consideration of Congress, with its sham windows, crouching lions, Roman 
gables and surmounting figure of "winged fame." The ground surrounding is RULES 
so graded as to form a knoll, and in the concrete underwork is the engine room for AND 
running the elevator which makes the ascent every even hour and half hour from 9 HOURS, 
a. m. to 5 p. m. The monument is open every day, except Sundays and National 
holidays, until 5.30 p. m. The elevator is overhauled thoroughly every month by the manu- 
facturers, and each day the safety clutches are carefully examined and their prompt action 
assured ; the mechanism is such that the elevator would not fall were both wire cables to break. 
On the upper landing, 500 feet from the ground, the visitor will note the novel manner 
of supporting and tying together all the marble blocks in the pyramidal top of 55 feet. This 
device, as well as the marble shutters mechanism, is the invention of Bernard R. Green ; the 
oddly shaped key-stone, 5,000 pounds, can be plainly seen directly over the elevator- well, 
dated "1884" on its underside. A look upwards, from the 2 by 3 feet windows, will show 
that more than 200 lightning rod tips extend in every direction from the upper 30 feet of the 
sloping sides. 

The view from the monument is surpassingly grand, commanding as it does on a clear 
day an area over 20 miles in any direction. It is well to be provided with a good field glass on 
making the ascent. Southward the Potomac, flushing lakes, canal and reclaimed flats in the 
foreground, with Long Bridge, Virginia shore, the shipping, the Barracks, old Fort Washing- 
ton, Mt. Vernon and Marshall Hall in the distance are to be seen. Westward, the Fish Com- 
mission's Propagating Ponds, Naval Observatory, Analostan Island, Georgetown, and 
Arlington meet the eye. To the North, the beautiful Executive Grounds with the "White 
House " as a center, flanked by the State, War and Navy and the Treasury Buildings, first 
attract the attention, while, to the left, the New Observatory and Oak View, and nearer the 
choicest residence portion of the city, and, to the right, tlie Post Ofiice, 
and Patent Office Buildings, with Howard University and the Soldiers' THE 

Home in the distance, make up a varied scene. This disputes with the COMMANDING 
eastern view the claim to chief attraction. There the Mall studded with VIEWS, 

trees of many varieties, with the buildings of the Bureau of Engraving, 

Agriculture, Smithsonian, National and Army Medical Museums, Fish Commission, Botanical 
Gardens, and the massive Capitol crowning all ; with Judiciary Square and its City Hall 
and Pension Building, Kendal Green, the Deaf Mute College and Graceland Cemetery on the 
left, and the Navy Yard, Congressional Cemetery, Jail and Alms House on the right, and the 
Anacostia or Eastern Potomac winding away in the distance, M'ith the Government Hospital 
for the Insane overlooking it on its commanding heights, is a picture not soon to be forgotten. 
Nowhere in the world, it is quite safe to say, may as many imposing buildings so advantage- 
ously ijlaced, and so surrounded by beautiful vistas be viewed from one eminence, as may 
here be seen from this commemorative shaft. 



76 CHURCHES, CLUBS AND AMUSEMENTS. 

If after this exhilarating view the visitor prefers, he may descend by way of the 808 steps 
and 50 landings, well illuminated by electricity. The elevator makes the trip 
in ten minutes ; it can easily be done on foot in 15 ; this added time and labor THE 

is repaid by the opportunity afforded to examine the presentation stones which INTERIOR, 
have been laid in the interior. These are from nearly all of the States and 
Territories, from principal cities and towns, from Indian nations. Foreign powers, benevolent 
orders, schools and religious societies. Mount Vesuvius and Japan, Switzerland and China, 
the Tombof jSTapoleonand Tell Chapel, Bremen and Carthage, are here represented. 

It may be of interest to read the following comparison of heights : Eittel Tower, 986 
feet; Washington Monument, 555; proposed Philadelphia Public Building's Tower, 535; 
Cologne Cathedral, 512 ; Strasbourg Cathedral, 4(55 ; St. Peter's, Rome, 455 ; Great Pyramid, 
Egypt, 450 (originally 485) ; St. Kollox Chimney, Glasgow, 450; St. Stephen's, Vienna, 441 ; 
Mariankirche, Lubeck, 430 ; Antwerp Cathedral, 402 ; St. Paul's, London, 364 ; Milan Cath- 
edral, 355; Capanile, Florence, 290 ; U. S. Capitol, 288 ; Trinity, N. Y., 284 ; Great Mosque, 
Cairo, 282 ; Bunker Hill Monument, 221; and the Leaning Tower, Pisa, 179 feet. 

The Washington Statue, by Geeenough. — Facing the center front of the Capitol 
stands the colossal marble statue of George Washington by Horatio Greenough, 1842. The 
figure, "sitting in majesty," is 12 feet high on a granite pedestal, cost $25,000 for statue, 
$19,000 for pedestal and transportation. Nude to the waist, with the right arm and lower body 
drained, the extended left hand holding a sheathed Roman sword and the right pointing heaven- 
ward, the conception is so strange that no statue in this country has given rise to a greater 
amount of controversy. On the right of the chair Phaeton represents the rising sun with his 
fiery car and steeds, and on tlie left the Genii of North and South America are represented by 
Hercules strangling the serpent of tyranny and Iphiclus on the ground shrinking from the 
ordeal. On the back of the chair where recline figures of Columbus and an Indian, the inscrip- 
tion, " Simulacrum istud ad magnum Libertatis exemplum, nee sine ipsa duraturum. Hora- 
tius Greenough, Faciebat," has been freely translated : 

"This statue cast in Freedom's stately form, 
And by her e'er upheld. 

—"Horatio Greenough, Sculptor." 

Governor Henry Lee's world-famous eulogy, "First in war — first in peace — first in the hearts 
of his countrymen," is engraved around the pedestal. 

The Washington Statue, by Mills. — At 23d and K sts., n. w., in Washington 
circle, stands Mills' bronze equestrian statue of George Washington, representing the Com- 
mander surveying the field just after having rallied his troops at the battle of Princeton. The 
likeness is considered very faithful; it is from Houdon's bust taken in Washington's lifetime. 
The metal is from captured guns donated by Congress, 1853 ; cost $50,000. 

By act of March 2, 1889, Congress appropriated $40,000 each for statues of Generals 
Sheridan, Hancock and Logan. They will be placed as follows : Sheridan, at 13th st. and 
Pennsylvania ave., n. w. ; Hancock, 16th and N sts., n. w., to be hereafter known as Hancock 
circle ; Logan in Iowa circle, at 13th and P sts., n. w. A colossal monument commemorative 
of the life of Abraham Lincoln has been talked of for some years, to be placed in some com- 
manding position in the Capitol Grounds. 



CHURCHES, CLUBS AND AMUSEMENTS. 

The Churches of Washington are of every Christian faith and many other sects ; the 
Evangelical denominations are well represented and both pulpit and choir in many are filled 
with a high order of talent. The Citij Directory will give full information, and in most of the 
hotels a list of the principal places of worship will be found. St. John's Protestant Episcopal 



CHURCHES, CLUBS AND AMUSEMENTS. 



77 



Church, 16th and H sts., n. w., of which Presidents Madison, Jackson and Arthur were mem- 
bers; the First Presbyterian Church, 4)^ between C and D sts , n. w., where President and 
Mrs. Cleveland worshipped ; and the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, Connecticut ave. 
and 18th st., n. w., where President and Mrs. Harrison are communicants, are among the most 
notable in the city. 

Societies, Social, and Secret, are very popular in Washington ; especially mili- 
tary and secret organizations. At the Masonic Temple, 9th and F sts., n. w., and at Odd 
Fellows Hall, 7tli between D and E sts., n. w., full information of these and kindred organiza- 
tions may be bad. Armories, Boat, Bicycle, Athletic and Sjtorting Clubs and organizations 
among the various departmental employees, with special features, are numerous ; their location 




Tae Corcoran Gallery of Art. 
may be found in the CiUj Directory. The Cosmos Club, an organization with a literary and 
scientific membership, is at H and 15»^ sts., n. w. ; the Young Men's Christian Association, 
with a free reading-room, at JSTo. 14 New York ave., n. w.; and the Women's Christian Tem- 
perance Union in the Masonic Temple, 9th and F sts., n. w. " The Jefferson, " H between 14th 
and 15th sts., n. w., and "The Metropolitan," 17th and H sts., n. w., are leaders among the 
social clubs. The Hall of the Grand Army of the Republic, naturally a very strong and virile 
organization here, is on Pennsylvania ave., near 15th st. , u. w. 

The Places of Amusements in the city cover the field from the theater of the 
iM-st fl?s.s to +h-: variety stage where fisticuffs between local colored knights of the glove are a 



78 



RAILROADS, STREET CARS AND HACKS. 



leading feature. These are usually closed during the warmer weather ; the columus of the 
daily papers should be consulted for their announcements. 

The Corcokan Gallery of Art.s is at Pennsylvania ave. and 17th st.^ n. w., 
opposite the State, War, and Navy Building. The generosity of Mr. W. W. Corcoran, a 
deceased banker and philanthropist, furnished the building, the donation of his own art treas- 
ures, valued at $100,000, and an endowment of $900,000. The building is of bricli and freestone, 
104 by 124 feet, two stories and a mansard roof, costing $350,000. The statues of Phidias, 
Raphael, Angelo and Durer on the south front, and of Titian, Da Vinci, Rubens and Rem- 
brandt, on the west, are of Carrara marble, 7 
feet high, the work of Ezekiel. 1 1 was opened 
in December, 1874. On the first floor are 
the Sculpture Hall, Trustees' Rooms, Class 
Rooms, Library and the Janitor's Office ; on 
the second floor are six rooms devoted to 
paintings, and some busts of noted men. 
Powers' "Greek Slave" and the "Veiled 
Nun," are in 
the Octagon 
Room in the 
centre. A cat- 
alogue maybe 
procured of the 
janitor ; the 
gallery is open 

___„ „ . ^^ ^^^ public 

September and June, admis- |[P^*' * ' ^ |^S[ every week 

sion 25 cents on Monda\-, Ip ^ ^I^B day between 

"Wednesday and Friday, and 
free on Tuesday, Thursday 
and Saturday, as well as on 
Friday nights between 7.30 
and 10 o'clock, during the 
winter, when it is beauti- 
fully illuminated byelectric 
light. An addition in the rear contains a col 
lection of rare books, engravings, gems 
medals, etc. 




Monument to Unknown Dead. 



RAILROADS, STREET CARS 
AND HACKS. 

The Baltimore and Potomac 
Depot, 6th and Bsts., n. w. ; trains arrive 
and leave over Philadelphia, "Wilmington & 
Baltimore, Pennsylvania, Virginia Midland, 
Richmond & Danville, and other roads leading to all parts of the country. 

The Baltimore and Ohio Depot, New Jersey ave. and C sts., n. w.; trains over 
Bound Brook, Royal Blue Line, New Jersey Central and other roads, east, north and west. 

The Street Car System of the city is very complete and by reference to the maps 
will be found sufliciently explained. Fare, 5 cents ; 6 tickets for 25 cents ; transfers to other 
roads 3 cents extra. 

The Hack and Carriage Regulations of the city are fair and r Uy enforced 



RAILROADS, STREET CARS A XT) HACKS. 



79 



by law ; attempts to overcharge should be reported to nearest police-station or officer, tlie hack- 
mau must drive the passenger free of charge to nearest point where arbitration can be had. 
Two trunks or their equivalent shall be carried without extra charge, 25 cents each may be 
charged for extra pieces over this amount ; such small packages as can be C()nveniently carried 
within the hack shall be free of charge ; driver shall unload all baggage IVee. The following 
table explains itself: — 



One-Hokse Hacks ok Carriages. 



By the Hour: 

For one or two passengers, for the first hour, or I'or multiples of an 
hour, at the rate jjer hour of 

For each additional quarter of an hour or part thereof 

For three or four passengers lor the first hour, or for multiples of one 
hour, at the rate per hour of : 

For each additional quarter of an hour or i>art thereof 

By the Trip : 

By the trip of fifteen squares or less, for each passenger, or for multiple 

of fifteen squares at the rate, for each fifteen squares, of 

For each additional five squares or part thereof 




12.30 a. m. 
to 5 a. m. 



U 00 



1 25 
35 



40 
15 



Two horse hacks, for four persons, 
$1.50 for first hour and 25 cents each extra 
quarter hour. If dismissed outside the 
city 25 cents additional. 

The usual rates for special excur- 
sions in the vicinity of the city are : To 
.Arlington, $5; Soldier's Home 





Mt. Vernon. —Dining-Eoom. 



■Washington's Fed-Room. 

Brightwood, $5; Insane Asylum, 
Cabin John Bridge, $10 ; Great 
Falls of the Potomac, $20. Special 
rates by agreement may usually be 
obtained. 

Omnibus Lines, fares the 
same as those of the street-car lines, 



run on various routes which will be explained by any policeman or public guide. There are 
few points that can not be conveniently reached at moderate cost 



80 PARKS AND RESORTS. 

PARKS AND RESORTS. 

f\ LEXANDRIA. — Originally called Bellhaven, this town, population now 15,000, was founded 
fj 1748, 42 years before Washington. For many years, or until after 1846, Alexandria had 
f\ reasonable hopes of maintaining commercial supremacy, and when in that year it, with the 
M surrounding Virginia territory comprised in the "Ten Miles Square,"' was allowed by 

Congress to retrocede from the Federal jurisdiction and again attach itself to Virginia, it 
was on the plea that Alexandria, the thriving city, could not atford to help carry the burdens 
of debt-ridden Washington. How glad it might now be to re-enter the old compact, maybe judged 
by a visit to this somnolent town, where grass grown streets, the over-powering sense of its having 
fallen asleep in the last century, and the difficulty of believing that such life — or lack of it — can 
go on within six miles of the modern Capital of the Nation, afford its main claim to the visitor's 
attention. The town may be reached hourly by train (25 cents, round trip), or by boat (15 cents), 
the latter starting from a wharf reached by the 7th St. cable cars. 

On August 28th, 1814, after their capture of Washington, the British sailed up the Potomac ; 
Fort Washington was seized and a powder magazine blown up, and the town of Alexandria, with- 
out any show of resistance, at once capitulated under the moat humiliating terms. 

At Washington and Cameron sts., Christ Church, Protestant p]piscopal, begun 1705, finished 
1773, built of bricks made in England, is the place of worship for many years attended by George 
Washington, of which he was a vestryman. Pew No. 59, remaining as when he occupied it, is 
pointed out to visitors ; here the carpet, cushion, etc., remain in the worn and dilapidated condi- 
tion they were in at the time of Washington's death ; some old and interesting tombstones are in 
the church-yard. In the yard of the Mansion House, on Fairfax St., is an old house, called Wash- 
ington's Headquarters ; it is claimed that he so occupied it when in Alexandria. A National 
Cemetery, near the city, where are buried nearly 4,093 soldiers, is another point of interest. 

An ALOSTAN Island. — Opposite the old Naval Observatory is Analostan Island, 70 acres, 
connected with the Virginia shore by a causeway. It was the home of Gen. John Mason, Commis- 
sary-General, War of 1812, and in his time was under admirable cultivation and famed for the 
hospitality of its owner. James M. Mason, the Confederate Commissioner to Europe, captured by 
Admiral Wilkes, was born on this island. The mansion has been allowed to fall into a dilapidated 
condition ; the island is now mainly visited by picnic parties. 

Arlington Manor and National Cemetery. — On the Virginia Potomac shore, on a 
wooded knoll 250 feet above tidewater, known as Arlington Heights, and one-half a mile from the 
river, stands old Arlington jSIanor House, the home built, in 1802, by George Washington Parke 
Custis, the adopted son of Washington, and where, at the age of 2\ he brought his bride, Mary 
Lee Fitzhugh, a girl of but 16 years, and where he lived until 1851. The house, modeled after the 
Temple of Theseus at Athens, consists of a centre 60 feet long, two wings, each 40 feet, and a por- 
tico, 60 by 25 feet ; here may be obtained a charming view of the city and its environs. Here, until 
the outbreak of the late war, lived Gen. Robert E. Lee, who married the daughter of 
Mr. Custis, who, as the great-granddaughter of Martha Washiugton. had a life THK 

interest in the estate. The prevalent impression that the estate came into the posses- MANSION, 
sion of the Government by means of the Confiscation Act is erroneous ; it was sold on 
account of unpaid taxes, January 11, 1864, the U. S. giving over three fourths of its assessed valua- 
tion, though it had greatly deteriorated during the war. The weeping willows on the grounds are 
from stock brought to America, 1775, from the Poet Pope's villa at Twickenham, England ; this 
had been the parent stock of all like trees in England, as this cutting at Arlington has been of all 
in America. Ho; e came Lafayette with his son, George Washington Lalayette, on his second 
visit to America, and here have been entertained most of the notables of the days between the 
wars of 1812 and 1S61. 

The estate contained about 1100 acres, but has been divided, and about 200 acres and the 
Manor grounds were set aside in 1867 as the National Cemetery. Here are buried over 16,000 
soldiers of the late war, and surrounded by these are the plain marble monuments of Mr. and Mrs. 
Custis, erected by their daughter, Mrs. Lee. Gen. Phil Sheridan is buried in front of the Mansion ; 
the granite sarcophagus south of it, is placed over a vault 30 by 220 feet in diameter, in which are 
2111 unknown soldiers gathered from the battle-fields of Bull Run and the Rappa- 
hannock route. A grand stand and amphitheatre for use in Decoration Day NATIONAL 
ceremonies, will accommodate 5,000 persons. A mausoleum, commemorative of CEMETERY. 
many of the noted Generals of the Union Army, is also here. Congress has been 
and is very liberal in its appropriations for this beautiful spot, where almost daily the body of 
some old veteran is brought to join his comrades in the "silent bivouac of the dead." 



PARKS AXD RESORTS. 



81 



Arlington can best be reached by carriage, usual rate, S.5 ; but a walk of a mile and a half, 25 
minutes, will take one from the Georgetown terminus of the W. & G. R. R. line to the grounds. 
The superintendent will be found ready to give information. 

Fair Grounds. —The National Fair Grounds are between the Brentwood Road and the 
Washington Branch of the B. & O. R. R., about where 14th and T sts., n. e., would intersect, if 
extended so far. It may be reached by the railway or by a short walk from the electric street cars 
running on New York ave. 

Falls of the Potomac. —The most delightful drive, requiring a whole day, in the vicinity 
of Washington, is that to the Great Falls of the Potomac, about 15 miles. The features of the 
drive are Cabin John Bridge, claimed to be the longest single span of masonry in the world, 220 
feel.; the Little Falls, a series of cascades descending 37 feet, 4 miles from the city; the "Chain 
Bridge," which is now a Howe- 
truss, and the works of the water 
supplying system. This water 
supply, one of the most perfect 
in existence, comes from above 
the Great Falls 
the water is led THE CITY 
through an aque- WATER 
duct, the product SUPPLY, 
of the engineering 
skill of Gen. M. C. Meigs, U. S. 
Engineers, and is made possible 
by a series of engineering tri- 





Washliigton's Tomli. 

umphs. A cylindrical conduit, 9 
feet inside diameter, capable of de- 
livering 80,000,000 gallons in 24 
hours, at present furnishes 25,000,- 
000 ; thus it is the best watered city 
in the world in proportion to its 
inhabitants. The conduit empties 
into a receiving reservoir, 33 acres, 
300,000,000 gallons, which is 4% miles 
from the Capitol, 144 feet above 
tide water. Connected are the city 
conduits and the standpipe, 60 feet, 
at 16th and Boundary sts., n. w., 
and the high-service reservoir on 
, . Georgetown Heights ; this entire 

■work, with Its 6 bridges and 12 tunnels, one of which is one-third of a mile in length, cost the Gov- 
ernment over $3,500,000. 

The scenery along this drive is picturesque, especially so as the Great Falls are approached ; 
here the water descends 80 feet in less than \}4 miles, one of the cascades being nearly 40 feet ; and 
the perpendicular Virginia shore towers above the foaming current, here pent up to only 100 
yards in width. ^ y i- i 

During the summer months, small steamboats ply between the foot of 23d St. and Chain 
Bridge fare 15 cents the round trip. The scenery is wild and beautiful; here the leading boat 
Clubs have their headquarters and may frequently be seen at practice. 

^■'"-^'^^ °^ THE Potomac. — For many years these were a constant menace to the life and 
Jiealth of the community, as a fertile source of malaria. Having been taken in hand by the Gov- 



Mt. Veruou Mansion. 



32 



PARKS AXD RESORTS. 



ernment. solid ground, driveways and the basis of a fine public park, bave sprung up where 
festering mud and slime were left twice each day by the receding tide. This reclamation adds 
many hundreds of acres of public property, extending from above the old Naval Observatory to 
below the Arsenal, and many thousand of dollars to the city's wealth. 

Glen Echo Chautauqua. —This famous resort, some miles in the suburbs, a branch of the 
great Educational Encampment held at Lake Chautauqua, N. Y., is a most charming retreat in the 
summer. It is reached by an extension of the W. & G. street cars ; the daily papers should be 
consulted for particulars. 

Marshall Hall. — This beautiful resort, where music, restaurants, the usual merry-go- 
rounds and swings for the children are to be found, and perfect order is maintained, about 20 miles 
below the city, is reached daily during the outing season by special steamers which leave the 7th 
St. wharves west, every morning and afternoon during week days and four times daily on Sundays. 
The steamers, large, commodious and safe, have music on board ; the trip is a charming one and 
takes one past the beautiful grounds of the Arsenal, crosses the mouth of the Anaeostia, up which, 
on opposite banks, maybe seen the Navy Yard and the Government Asylum for the Insane, past 
Alexandria, Bellevue Naval Magazines, Fort Foote, Fort Washington and Mount Vernon, where 
on week days the steamers stop to allow passengers to land. This round trip of over 40 miles, 25 
cents, is well worth the expenditure of time which it requires, about 3 hours, 1 hour being spent 
on shore. 




WASHINGTON'S HOME. 

OUNT VERNON, the home of Washington, can best be reached 
by the boats to Marshall Hall ; the daily prints should be con- 
sulted for sailing hours and other details. The Mount Vernon 
Ladies' Association of the Union, incorporated 1859, purchased 
200 acres of this estate, for S200,000, and under its care the grounds 
and home have been restored as far as possible to the condition 
they were in at the time of Washington's death, 1799 ; the origi- 
nal tract embraced 7,600 acres ; in 1887 Mr. Jay Gould bought 
and donated to the Association 33J^ acres on the north. 

The central or original mansion was built by Lawrence, 
elder half-brother of the General, naming it in honor of Admiral 
Vernon, British Navy, under whom he served in the attack on 
^.^Xcr^^^^"^ Carthagena, 1741 ; the added wings were built by Gen. Wash- 

ington, The house is of wood, cut and painted in imitation of 
Washington Family Crest. stone. " The accompanying diagram illustrates the present 

arrangement of the box-bordered gardens, lawns, out-buildings, etc. ; detailed 

description is unnecessary. The "new tomb," at the south of the grounds, is THE MANSION 
beyond the old and abandoned one, from which the body of Washington and AND TOMB, 
of several members of his family were removed in 1837. Owing to the insecure 
condition of the latter, a grave robber was able to enter it and remove a skull and some bones, no 
part of the General's body, however, and on his detection it was decided to make better arrange- 
ments for the protection of the venerated remains. Under date of February 22, 1837, Lawrence 
Lewis, only surviving executor, wrote accepting the offer of John Struthers, of Philadelphia, to 
construct and donate a sarcophagus from a solid block of Pennsylvania marble, wherein the body 
could be deposited with safety. This, after designs by William Strickland, was shipped to Alex- 
andria, Sept. 22, 1837. The generosity of the donor led him to undertake the construction of the 
new vault ; this was completed and the sarcophagus finally sealed up Oct. 7, 1837. The condition of 
the old vault was most deplorable, coffins and loose bones were piled about promiscuously, and it 
was impossible to identify and separate these in the removal ; they were placed in the inner inclo- 
sure of the new vault and after the door was locked the key was thrown into the river ; no record 
now exists as to the identity or even the number of the bodies there placed. The lead coffin in 
which was the body of Washington, was identified by its silver escutcheon on which were the simple 
words : " George Washington, born Feb. 22, 1732 ; died Dec. 14, 1799." The top 
of the casket was somewhat broken, disclosing to view " a head and breast of THE 

large dimensions which appeared by the dim light of the candle to have suf- SARCOPHAGUS, 
fered but little from the effects of time." This casket was placed in the sar- 
sophagus, excavated from a solid stone, 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 2 feet high, inside measure- 



PARKS AND RESORTS. 



83 



ments ; the lid is of a ponderous block of Italian marble, on which are the Arms and Insignia of the 
United States in the boldest relief, and only the word " Washington." This and the sarcophagus 
containing the body of Martha Washington can be plainly seen through the grated, iron gate ; and 
nearby are clustered the graves of several members of the family. 

Washington was his own architect and landscape gardener ; after he resigned his commission 
at Annapolis, Dec. 23, 1783, he here lived the life of a retired country gentleman until called upon 
to become the first President of the Republic. Here was an extensive deer-park, where twenty or 
more deer could be seen at one time ; in this, in 1785, he had his last hunt in the saddle, a sport of 
which he was very fond. But it is in the ^Mansion that the visitor is brought most closely in touch 
with the life of the Patriot ; there the presence of old servants who " b'longed in de fam'ly," born 
on the estate, as were their fathers before them, adds a pleasant touch of realism to the memory 
of those bygone days. In the hall is the key of the Bastile, presented by Lafayette ; near the en- 
trance a cabinet contains the surveyor's outfit used by Washington in his early days in the 
Virginia wildernesses, and his Commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. 
In all cases where the carpets have been replaced the original patterns are followed ; the furniture 
is antique, though some of it is not original. Portraits of Washington and Peale's "Washington 
hefore Yorktown " hang in the dining-hall ; and the west parlor contains a picture of Admiral 



-Mt. "Vernon Mansion. 

-New Tomb and Jlonuments. 

-Lawn. 

-K— Gardens. 

-Lawn. 

-Deer Park. 

-Seed House. 

-Servants, etc. 

-Ice House. 

-Work Shop. 

-Fire-proof. 

-Salt House. 

-Gardener. 

-Servants Hall. 

-Kitolien. 

-Dairy. 

-Office. 

-Smoke House. 

-Laundry. 

-Corn Bin. 

-Barn. 

-Greenery. 

-Seed House. 

-Summer House. 

-Abandoned Tomb. 




POTOMAC BIVEB 



PLAN OF MT. VERNON ESTATE. 

Vernon's attack on Carthagena with the family coat of arms over the mantel. It is undoubtedly 
from one of these with its red and white stripes and gold stars, that the original inspiration 
came which resulted in our national colors, " the Stars and Stripes." The most interesting relics 
are on the 2d floor; Lafayette's Room, with an engraved reproduction of AryScheffer's noted 
portrait (see page 33), and the desk and dressing table that he used, and Washington's Room in 
which he died, Dec. 14, 1799, with the old high-post bed and the bedding remaining 
as they were at his death, and his desk, hair-coveied trunk, leathern chair (the THE 

cover cut by vandals) all as he left them, are the most fascinating spots among MANSION'S 
these historic surroundings. In her room, the mirror where "sweet Eleanor INTERIOR. 
Custis " made her toilet, and the steps whereon she climbed into her lofty bed are 
still to be seen, and below is her harpsichord, a wedding present from the General, which, with 
all the ivory of its keys stolen by relic-hunters, is now kept locked to prevent further vandalism. 
Other of the 2d-story rooms are named after various States which have contributed to keep them 
in order and have donated relics, etc., for them. On the floor above is the room where Martha 
Washington secluded herself after the General's death, and where, to quote one of the old 
servants. ' she staid fur eighteen months' till she died dere." A notch in the bottom of the door 



84 



PARKS AXD RESORTS. 



calls for this explanation : "She never had no fire in de winter, and it was mighty hot in de 
summer,— but dere she staid wid only her cat fur comp'ny"; and thus the one familiar friend had 
come and gone until its mistress was carried out to the old tomb. In the River-room, or East 
parlor, below, are still her writing-desk, clock, and spinning-wheel. 

A trip to Mt. Vernon is a feature of the visit to the Capital City which should never be 
overlooked ; here it is possible to completely escape from that sordid quality which so frequently 
makes the places associated with great deeds or persons an offense to the reverent visitor. Never 
before the time of such a visit will the American feel so near to the days of our nation's birth, 
and, as he turn's away to the placid river, he will remember with pleasure that, though bound on 
an errand of pillage and despoilation against Alexandria, the proud English fleet paused, in 1814, 
their officers and men with uncovered heads, and the reverberations of the minute gun echoed 
from hill to hill in respectful token of their veneration for the memory of Washington. 

NoTiiEY Hall. — A favorite riverside resort above Marshall Hall ; boats, from same wharves 




The National Soldier's Home, 
pass the same views which are described under that resort, see page 82. Round trip, 25 cents. 

River View. — Like the foregoing this is one of several riverside resorts, the boats start 
from and carry one past the same points. See Marshall Hall, page 82. Round trip 25 cents. 

Rock Creek Park.— This picturesque park extends along both sides of Rock Creek for 
about 3 miles, and can be reached by a walk of a mile from the cars leading into the northwest 
section of the city. 2,000 acres were purchased by Congress in 1890 ; it is intended to beautify the 
extent with drives, walks and the skill of the landscape gardener. 

The Soldiers' Home. — This institution, in the suburbs, 3 miles north of the Capitol, and 
may be reached by the electric cars on New York ave, the cable cars and Silver Spring route on 
7th St. (2 fares), or the branch route of the Metropolitan Railway running out 9th St., and con- 
necting with the Silver Spring route. The first calls for a walk of about J?4 of a mile, the two 
others, a walk of a ^ mile. Through these charming grounds, with their 7 miles of roadway, is 
one of the most attractive and fashionable drives around Washington. The Home is for U. S.. 



PARKS AND RESORTS. 85 

Regulars or Volunteers who served in the Mexican and the late war, and for privates in the 
Regular Army. It was founded, at the instance of General Winfield Bcott, by the aid of the 
pillage money which he levied on the Mexicans in that war. An heroic statue of General Scott, 
erected by the Home at a cost of $18,000, and the work of Launt Thompson, stands near the 
buildings. These comprise a Hospital, about the centre of the 500 acre tract of land, a Main Hall, 
Mess or Meeting Room and Offices, a Library, several commodious Dormitories, Houses for the 
OflBcers, and such stables, hothouses, etc., as the farm requires. A "President's Cottage," 
frequently tised as such in the summers, a beautiful chapel, and the " Capitol Vista" are note- 
worthy features; the latter presents, through a long specially trimmed forest vista, au entrancing 
view of the Capitol, 3 miles away. The Home, under the charge of the War Department, is 
famous for its perfect management, unusual sanitary excellence, and the feeling of content that 
is to be found among its inmates. Though open to the public every da.y from 9 to sunset, at no 
time is it possible for the visitor to inspect the inner life of this vast institution and not find it 
looking as though on dress parade, so excellent is the discipline and so willing are its inmates to 
comply with its rules. It is now partially maintained by a small monthly tax on the pay of the 
regular soldiers. 

Zoological, Park, National.— Joining Rock Creek Park, near Woodly Lane, is the new 
National Zoological Garden. Congress purchased 16G acres, 1889, at a cost of §176,128, and the 
ground is being laid out and the necessary building erected so as to fit this to become in time the 
principal garden of the sort in the country. The living animals, formerly behind the Smithsonian 
institution, form the nucleus for this display. A number of larger Rocky Mountain animals 
have recently been captured in the Yellowstone Park for this collection. 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 

Space here affords but room for a brief mention of the most notable of the Institutions of 
Learning, Public Charities, and Cemeteries, not already mentioned elsewhere. These are 
arranged alphabetically. 

Institutions of Learning. — Academy of the Visitation; 35th st., W.. Georgetown; 
branch, Conn, ave., abv. L., n. w., founded 1799 ; open Wednesdays and Saturdays, after 12 M. 
Catholic University of America; ]\x<s,t East of Soldiers' Home, see page 84 for route. 65 acres, 
200 ft. elevation, dedicated Oct. 1889 ; buildings, blue-stone, 267 by 110 ft., and 90 by 45. Columbian 
University (Baptist) 15th and H, sts., n. w. ; founded 1822, created a university 1873 ; classical, law, 
and medical departments ; brick building, 121 by 64 ft., 4 stories, fl50,000. The usual place for 
large scientific gatherings. Deaf and Dumb Asylum, National; "Kendall Green," 7th and 
Boundary sts., n. e., by cars of Columbia line. Founded by Amos Kendall, Prest. Jackson's Post- 
master-General, 1857 ; endowed with §100,000, the only institution of the same grade in the world. 
Open Thursdays. Georgetown University (Jesuit), near Metropolitan line, O St., n. w. ; founded 
1789, made a University 1815 ; valuable library, books and manuscripts of 15th century ; main 
building $200,000, 1879; open every day, except Sunday. Howard University; near 7th and 
Boundary sts., n. w., by Cable line ; fine view ; incorporated 1867 ; open to all colors ; $700,000. 
Libraries. — The City is richly supplied with public libraries, reference to which may be found in 
the index : 46 of these contain 1,360,000 books and 430,000 pamphlets ; 32 are departmental. Public 
School System. The City is amply provided with free schools of a high average ; the colors are 
educated separately. The Franklin School, Franklin Square, n. w., took first prize at the Paris 
Exposition. Reform School; at Fort Lincoln, on Baltimore Pike; established for boys, 1866; 
farm 150 acres. Wayland Seminary (Baptist) ; Meridian Hill, north end of 15th St., n. w. ; for 
education of colored preachers and teachers. 

Hospitals and Homes.— CoZwwtim Hospital; L. and 25th St., n. w. ; for women; free 
daily dispensary. Deaf and Dumb Asylum; see Institutions of Learning, above. Children's 
Hospital; W. St.. near 13th, n. w. ; Incorporated, 1871 ; open Sundays, Tuesdays, Fridays. Emer- 
gency Hospital; 521 12th St., n. w. ; for urgent cases. Freedmen's Hospital; Pomeroy and 5th 
Sts., n. w. ; open week days 11 to 4, Sundays 12 to 5 ; supported by the Government. Home for 
Aged ( "Little Sisters of the Poor") ; 3d and H sts., n. e. Homaoimthic Hospital; 2d and N. sts., 
n. w. ; open 4 to 5, daily. Insane, GovH. Hospital for; s. e. bank of Anacostia, via Anacostia line. 
Building 750 by 200 ft . . 550 rooms, cost $1,000,000, accommodates 1,000 persons ; 419 acres ; open 2 to- 
6, Wednesdays. Louise Home; Mass. ave., near 15th St., n. w. , founded by W. W. Corcoran, 



86 



PARKS AND RESORTS. 



1871 ; cost $200,000, endowment, $250,000 ; a borne for southern gentlewomen in reduced circum- 
stances ; open daily, Sundays excepted, after noon. Naval Hospital; near Marine Barracks, see 
p. 50. Orphan's Home, Soldiers' and Sailors'; G St. near 17th. n. w. ; under Government 
patronage; founded 1866. Providence Hospital; T> & 2d., s. e., Sisters of Charity; open daily, 
10 to 11 and 3 to 4; most excellent accommodations for both free and pay patients; enjoys 
a deserved reputation of a high order. St. Ann's, K & 21th. sts., n. w., St. John's, H near 
19th., n. w., St. Joseph's, H near 9th, n. w., and SI. Rose's. G near 20th., n. w., are four prominent 
orphan asylums. St. Vincent's Orphanage; (Sisters of Charity), G and 10th sts., n. w.; 
founded 1831, for girls. Washington Orphan Asylum (Protestant); 11th and G sts., n. w.; 
founded I8I5! Work House; Hospital Square, adjoining Jail, see p. 60; an asylum for indigent 
and petty criminals; founded 1815; accommodates 400 inmates. 

CEMET-Eni-ES.— Congressional; on Anacostia, a mile above Navy Yard, Anaoostia line; 
worthy of a visit. Laid out 1807; 30 acres; 150 cenotaphs of members of Congress. George 
Clinton, Elbridge Gerry, Wm. West, A. P. Ushur, Gen'ls Brown, McComb, Gibson, Henderson 
and Commodore Chancey are among the notables here buried. Olenwood; 1^< miles n. of Capitol 
this, 90 acres, Prospect Hill, 17 acres, and St. Mary's. 3 acres are together, via Electric line. 
Oraceland; end of Columbia line, 15th and H sts., n. e.; 40 acres. Harmony; Brentwood Road, 
via Electric line. Mount Olivet; Columbia Turnpike, y^ mile n. of Graceland, see above; Wirz 
see p. 11, and Mrs. Surratt, see p. 48, are buried here. National Military; just north of 
Soldiers' Home, see p. 84; 5,153 Union and 271 Confederate dead here buried; here is the Logan 
Memorial Chapel. Oak Hill; Georgetown Heights; via Metropolitan line; gift oE W. W. 
Corcoran, 30 acres, endowment of §120,000; Corcoran, Chief Justice Chase, Stanton, Admiral 
Rogers, Gen'l. Eaton, Prof. Henry, Bishop Pinckney, John Howard Payne and other prominent 
persons are buried here. Prospect Hill; see Glenwood above. Rock Creek; this and St. Paul's 
P. E., Church therein, outdate the city by 71 years; the latter, built 1719, is of bricks from Eng- 
land;'just north of Soldier's Home, see p. 84. St. Mary's; see Glenwood, above. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



midi's Canopy, 16; Capitol, distant views, 
3 '9, 67; East front (frontispiece) west 
front 15; n. w. view from. 7; s. w. view 
from 6, floor plans, 34, 35; City Hall, 12: Colum- 
bus scenes from his life, 20-26, 41; Congres. 
Library, new, 27; Corcoran gallery, 77; En- 
graving and Printing bld'g, 53; Executive 
Mansion 3, 13,42146: Interior Dep't, 56, 57;interi- 
ors (See i^ooms) : Justice, Dep't. of, 60;Monu- 
ments (See Statuary); Nat'l. Museum, 63-65; 
Mt. Vernon. 79, 81, 83; Observatory,49; Patent 
Office, 56, 57; Penna, ave., 9; Pension office, 58, 
59; Post Office Dept, 5.5; Rooms and Interiors: 
Blue, 45, D. C. Comm, 36, East, 46, Green, 45, 
House of Rep. and corridors, 19, 34, Marble, 36, 



Mt. Vernon, 79, Patent offices, 67; Pension off., 
59 Red, 42, Rotunda, 14: Senate and corridors, 
17, 18. 34, 86; Skeleton Hall, 65; Statuary Hall, 
2N; Supreme Court 39; Smithsonian, 62; Sol- 
diers' graves, 78, Home, 84; State, War, and 
Navy bld'g, 13, 47; Statuary: Allen, 32," Car of 
time" clock, 17, Cass, 31, Civilization, 41, 
Columbus, 41, Crawford, 30, Emancipation, 
74, Freedom, 1, Garfield. 30. 71, Greene, 69, 
Jackson. 69. King. 31. Ijat'ayette. 70, Lincoln, 
12, 74, McPherson, 6i); Naval, or "Peace," 
67, Scott. 69, Thomas, 5. Trumbull, 30, Wash- 
ington, 69. 72; Telescope, great, 49; Thomas 
circle, 5; Treasury, 13,61; Views, distant, 3, 5, 
6. 7,9, 13; Washington, Geo.: apotheosis. 16, 
bed, 79; Family crest. 82, Home, 79, 81, Monu- 
ment, 72; Scenes in his life, 38; Statue, 69, 
Tomb, 81. 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Alto rilievo (Hee Pronzes). 

Akchitect.s and Designeks:— Bullfinch, 18; 
Capitol, of the. 10, 20; Clark^^ 20, 54; Davis, 
Jefferson, 29; Downing, 69; Early, 6; Green, 
75; Hadfleld, 17, 60; Hallett, 16; Hoban, 16, 42; 
Latrobe, 17, 18, 33; Meigs, 54, 81; Mills, 51, 54, 
57, 73; Mullett, 46, 52; Olmstead, 14; Rogers, 
52; Shepherd, 11; Story, 75; Strickland and 
Struthers, 82; Thornton, 16; Walter. 19, 62, 64; 
Young, 52. 

Aetists and Sculptors:— Ames. 33; Bailey, 
73; Ball, 70; Bartholdi, 68; Bierstadt, 33, a5. 
Brooks, 35; Brown, 32, 69, 70, 73; Brumidi, 16, 



26, 27, 28, 33, 36, 37; Capellano, 22, 26; Carpen- 
ter, 35; Caucici, 26; Chapman, 25; Costaggini, 
27; Crawford, 1, 20,28, 29, 30, 33, 65; Crittenden, 
30, 33; D' Angers, 32; Eastman, 36; Ezekiel, 
78; Falquiere, 71; Flannery, 71; Franzoni, 17, 
18, 33; French, 31, 32; Gavelot. 26; Greenough, 
H., 22, 76; Greenough R., 32; Healy, 40: Hou- 
den, 33, 76; Hoxie, 33, 70; Hubbard, 33; Ives, 
30, 32. Jouvenal, 70: Leutze. 3.5; Mead, 32; 
Mercie, 71; Mills, 69, 71. 76; Moran. 40; Mos- 
chowski. 33; Mozier, 40; Neagle, 3.5, 39: Nevin, 
32; Niehaus. .30, 32; Palmer, 32; Peale, C, 37; 
Peale, R., 37, 83; Persico. 22; Plassman, 70; 



GEXERA L INDEX. 



Powell 25 40; Powers. 32, 35, 40, 78; Ransom, 
33; Ream, 33, 70: Reitschel, 71; Roberts, 32; 
Robisso, CO, 71; Rogers, 22, 25; 8alviati, 10; 
Saunders, 33; Sclietfer. 33, 83; Seaton, 40; Sim- 
mons 31 32 07, 71; Stone, 32, 37; Story. /I, 75; 
Stuai-t 33 35, 43; Sully, 40; Thompson, 70, 85; 
Trove '37; Trumbull, 20: Vaiulerlyn, 25, 33; 
Wai-cl,' 70, 73; Whitney, 32; Wier, 26. 
Basso rilievo (See Bronzes). , ,,^ , 
Bronzes. RiLiKVi, etc. (see also *S'<a«Mar^):- 
Agriculture, 71; America, 73,76; Amer, dis- 
covery Roger's Door 20-25; Boone, 26; Bronze 
doors, ' Crawford's, 38-39, Rogers', 20-25; 
Bronze stairways, 37,49; Columbus and his 
times 20-25 26, 76 (See also Illustrations); 
Commerce 71; 'Corn Cob Columns, 18, 36; De 
Grasse D^Estaing, and Du Portail, 70,71; 
Education, 71; Hercules, 76; History, 71; In- 
dian 76; Iphiclus, 76; Mars, 73; Medallion 
heads 26; Military and naval campaigning, 
59- Neptune, 73; Past and Present, 40; Peace, 
73- Penn's Treaty, 26; Phaeton, 76: Pilgrim's 
landing. 26; Pocahontas and Smith 26; por- 
ticoes. East, 21, 22, Senate, 39, 40; R. R. and 
Teleo-raph 55; Revolutionary and l<ederal 
History Crawford door, 38, 39; Rochambeau, 
70 71; Rotunda, 26; Statesman, 70, 71; Stu- 
dent 70 71; Tobacco columns, 18; Tympanum, 
East portico, 22, Senate, 40; Victory, /l, /3; 
Warrior 70. 71; Washington crowned, 22, 
Monument. 76, Sarcophagus, 82; Wisdom, 71. 
BUHEAUS Divisions, and Offices (See also 
Committees and Departments):— Amer. Re- 
publics, 47; Architects, 52; Archives,4,; Army 



Chemistry, oi;vjiiy r. w., uj, <^ivii .oc. . ...c, 
60- Claims, Exam, of, 47; Coast and Geodetic, 
54; Consular, 47; Courts, 60; Currency, 52; 
DeadLetter,5.5; Diplomatic,47; District Comm. 
12- Docks 50; Education, 59; Engineering, 
48 '50: Engraving, 53, 54; Entomology, 61; Eth- 
nology 63 66; Forestry, 61; Geodetic, 54; 
Geography, 59: Geological, 59, 66; Hydro- 
graphic 50; Indexes, 47; Indian, 58; Inspec- 
tion 50 52; Land Office, 57; Law, 60; Life 
Saving 52; Light Houses, 52; Mails, foreign, 
55 .56 Railway, 55; Marine, corps, 60, hospital, 
54; Microscopy, 61; Mineralogy, 61; Mining, 
61 Mint 52; Money Order, 55, o6; National 
M'useum' 63 64, 66, 67: Nautical Almanac, 50; 
Naval Intelligence, 50, Pay, 50; Navigation, 
50 5''- Navy Yard, 50; Observatory, 5U; Ord- 
nance, 48, 50; Ornithology; 61; Paleontology, 
59- Patent Office, 56, 57; Penal, 60; Pensions, 
.58 59- Agencv, 58, Records, 48; Photography, 
54; Police, 60; Pomology, 61; Public Buildings, 
48; Railroads, 5.5, 58; Rolls, 47; Secret Service, 
52; Seed 61; Signal office, 48; Sixth Auditor, 
56; Soldiers' Home. 48, 79, 84; Solicitor- 
General, 60; Statistics, 47, 54. 59, 61; Surgeon- 
General 48, 50; Titles, exam, of, 60; Topo- 
graphy, 59; Treasurer 52; Veterinary, 61; War 
records, 48. 
Busts (Bee Statuary). . „, on 

Capitol The:— Accoustics in, 2b, 33; ap- 
proaches to, 21: Architects, 20; Basements, 3.5- 
37 41- Baths ;>5, 36; Corner-stones, 16,19, 21, 39; 
■ Criticism of, 20; Designs for, 1.5, 17; Dome, 10, 



Heating, 41; History, 14-20; House, 19, S2, 33- 
35; Impressions of, 20; Journalists 35; Light- 
ing 35 41; Lobbies, 33, 35; Material, 15, 17,32; 



Monolithic columns, 33; Oven, The, 17; Por- 
ticoes, 21, 22, 2,3, 4U: Restaurant, 35, 36; Retiring 
rooms, .33; rooms (See Committee Roonis)\K»- 
tunda, 25: Sculpture. (See Bronzes and 
Statuary): Senate, 18. 19 37, 40; Site, 4; Size, 
15; Stairways, 27, 35, 37, 40; Temporary struc- 
ture, 11; ventilation, 15, 41; Views from, 6, 7, 
29. 

Carriage Hire, rates, 79. 

Circles (See Jieser cations). 

CoJiMiTTEE Rooms and Caittol Offices:— 
Agriculture, 35; Appropriations, 33, 37; Archi- 
tects, 41; Banking and Currency, 33, 35; Chief 
clerk, 33, 37; Claims, 40; Clerks, .35, 37; Coast 
Defences. 40; Commerce, 35, 40; District of 
Columbia, 3.5, 36, 37; Documents, 33; Elections, 
35, 40; Engrossed Bills, 40; Enrolled Bills, 37; 
Expenditures, 40; Finance, 40; Foreign, 3.5, 
37; Index, 33; Indians, 36, 36; Journalists, 40; 
Judiciary, 35; Land claims, 40; Library, 36; 
Library Building^ 40; Military, 3.5^36: Naval, 
35, 36; Nicaragua Claims, 40; Official Reporfers, 
40; Pacitic R. R., 35; Patents, 3.5, 37; Post office, 
37; President's Room, 17; Printing, 40; Privi- 
leges and Elections, 40; Public Buildings, 40; 
Public Lands, 35; R. R. and canals, 3.5. 40; Re- 
ception Rooms, 17, .35; Rivers and Harbors, 
35; Secretary. 37; Sergeant, 33, 37; Speaker, 
33; Supreme Court suite, 36; Telegraph, 36, 
40; Vice President, 37; Ways and Means, 33. 

Days and Hours:— (These hours, here given 
in this form for convenience of reference, ap- 
ply to sightseers and not to those calling on 
business. Unless the word daily is used it 
will signify that the place is closed on the 
Sabbath. Where no mention is made of a 
place it will be open from 9 till 4 on business 
days):— Asylums see p, 85; Barracks, daily, 
sun to sun; Bureaus and Divisions, usually, 
10-2, displays therein, 9-4; Botanic Gardens, 
sun to sun; Capitol. 9-4.30; Charities, see p. 
85; Corcoran Gallery, 9-6, see p. 78; Depart- 
ments, see Bureaus, above; Engraving and 
Printing Bureau, Saturdays, 10-2; Executive 
Mansion, 10-3; Hospitals, see p. 85; House of 
Representatives, 9-4.30, in session at noon; 
Museums, 9-4, except Army Medical, 9-3, and 
National, 9-4.30; Mt. Vernon, see p. 82; Navy 
Yard dailv, sun to sun; President receives 
all callers, 1 P. M.. Mond., Wednes., Friday; 
Resorts, see p. 80; Schools, see p. 85; Senate, 
9-4.;?0, in session at noon; Smithsonian, 9-4.30; 
Soldiers' Home, daily, 9-6; Supreme Court, 
9-4.30, in session at noon. 

Departmental subdivisions (See Bureaus). 

DEPARTMENTS:— Agriculture, 61, 65; Att'ny- 
Gen'l., 60; Executive Mansion, 42; Fish 
Comm., 63, 65. 66; Gov't Printing Off., 63, 67; 
Interior, 57; Justice. 60; Municipal Gov't. 12, 
60; Navy, 49; Post Office, 54; Publications, .30. 
63, 67; Smithsonian, 30, 42, 62, 65; State, 46; 
Treasury, 51 ; War, 48 

Designers (See Architects). 

Dist. of Columbia (See Washington City). 

Divisions (See Bureaus). 

Environs, Resorts, etc. (See pp. .80-86):— 
Arlington, 79; Bellhaven, 80; Brightwood, 79; 
Cabin John Bridge, 79, 81; Chain Bridge. 81; 
Chautauqua, 82; Insane Asylum, 79, 85; Mt. 
Vernon, 82; National Cemeteries, 80, 80, 86; 
Soldiers' Home, 79, 84; Zoological Park, 85. 

Exhibits (See iV-/!<seM?((A). 

Frescoes:— American fruits and vines, 3b; 
Apotheosis of Washington, 27; Boston Mas- 
sacre, .36; Brewster, 37; Brumidi, 16. 26, 27, 28, 
83 36, 37; Costaggini, 27; Canopy of Dome, 16. 



ff 



GENERAL INDEX. 



27 28; Ceilings, decorated, 33 37; Cincinnatus, 
S6; Columbus, 2G, 37; Discovery, Executive 
Power, Exploration, Fulton, Geography, 37; 
Ghent" signing treaty, 30; Hall of Represent, 
83; Hamilton, History, 37; House Wing, base- 
ment 36; Jefferson, 3t), 37; Justice, 37; Las 
Casas, 36: Legislation, 37; Lexington, 36; 
Liberty, 37, 37, Marine deities, 36; Peace, 
Physics Plenty, Prudence, 37; Putnam, 36; 
Religion, 37, 37; Rotunda. 16, 26, 27; Senate 
wing, basement. 36: Stoney Point.36; Strength, 
Telegraphy, Temperance, Vespuccius, War, 
37- Washington, Geo. 36: apotheosis, 27, in 
consultation, 37, at Valley Forge, 36, at 
Yorktown, 37; "Wooster 36. 
Heights, comparative table, 76. 
Historic Mention (See also Personal Men- 
lion) -Alexandria, retrocession, 11, SO; Battles, 
10 80: Blodgett Hotel, 54;British warfare, 7, 10, 
11, 17, 29, 42, 48, 80, 84; Buildings, Histories of, 
(See Bureaus and Depariments); Camp Hill, 
50; Capitoline Hill, 4. 15; Capture of City, 8; 
Corner-stones, 1, 16, 19, 21, 39. 42, 73; Designs 
and Plans, 15, 17, 18, 42, 73; Early histories, 
1_6 i4_20 73-75 80, 82, (see also Washington 
Cit'ij and Deiidrtmenis); Fires, 10, 11, 17, 19, 29 
42, '48. 53, 58, 62; Gastronomy, 44- Inaugural 
gatherings, 21, 59; Indians, 1; Maryland's aid, 
a 6; Masonic ceremonies, 16, 73, 74; Mt. Vernon 
Ladies Assoc, 82; Oldest buildings, 86; origi- 
nal owners, 1, 3, 4; Outlook in 1791, 3; Oven 
the, 17; Periods of growth, 6-11; "Pope of 
Rome," 4; Pope's willows, 80; Races, the 
Bladenshurg. 10; Records of interest, 30, 47, 
60; Sites, selection of, 1, 3, 73; Stars and 
Stripes, origin, 83; Virginia's aid, 2, 6; wars, 
7-10, 11, 19. 
Hours (See Days and Hours). 
Judicial Affairs (See also Bureaus and 
Departments):— Chiei Justices, 35, 40, 62, 71; 
Cicy Hall, 12, OO; Courts: Circuit, claims, dis- 
trict 60, Supreme, 39, 40, 41, Court House, 60; 
Examiner of Claims, 47, of Titles, 60; Jails, 
48 60; Judges, 35, 40, 71, 73; Judges-Advocate, 
48' 50; Judiciary Square, 57, 60, 71: Marshal, 
4l'; Trials, famous, 40, 48, 60. 
Libraries (See page 85):— Agricultural, 61; 
Americana, 30; Army INIedical, 48; Astronom- 
ical 50; Attorney-General's, 60; Catalogues, 
30; Committees on, 36, 40; Congressional. 29, 
31; Copyright, 30; Corcoran Gallery, 78; Edu- 
cation, 59; Executive Mansion, 45; Fire in, 10, 
19 29; Force Collection, 30; Geological Sur- 
vey. 59; Gov't, publications, 30, 63, 67; House 
of "Representatives, 33, 35; Interior Dep't.. 58; 
Jefferson's, 29; Justice, Dep't. of, 60; Law, 29, 
36; Librarians, 29, 30: Light House Board, S2; 
National Museum, 64; Naval Observatory, 50; 
Navy Dep'tment, 49; New Congressional, ol; 
Newspapers, 30, 47; Patent OflQce, 58; Rules, 
32; Senate. 40; Smithsonian Inst., 30, 63; 
Soldiers' Home, 85; State Dep't, 47; Statistics, 
54; Surgeon-General's, 48; Toner Collection, 
31; Treasury, 52; War Dep't., 48; Washing- 
toaiana, 31. on ^ , • 

I.INCOLN, Abraham:— Bier, 41; Bust, 33; Cabi- 
net, 35; Conspirators against, 48; Invention 
by, 58; Mosaic of, 40; Park, 68; Portraits, 35, 
43; Relics 65; Reminders of, 45; Signing 
Proclamation, 35; Statues, 12, 33, 70, 71, 74, 76. 
Marine (See also ^Mreatts):- Aquaria, 66; 
Band, 43. 50; Barracks, 50; Battery, 51; Corps, 
50; Deities, 36; Hospital service, 50, 54; :Monu- 
ment, 73; Museums, 50, 63, C6. 67: Navy 
Yard, 10, 50. 
Monuments (See Statuary). 



Museums, Exhibits, Relics, etc:— Agri- 
cult., 61, 6); Aquaria, 66; Archseol, 63, 61, 66; 
Army Med. and Supplies, 48, 65; Arts, 64, 78; 
Birds, 6;^, 65; Botany, 61, 65; Centennial, 33, 64, 
65; Dead letters, '55; Ethnology, 63, 64, 66; 
Fisheries, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67; Food, 65; Gems. 6.5; 
Grant relics, 65; Hygiene, 51; Indians, 63, 
64, 66; Ku Klux, 52; Lincoln Relics, 65; 
Mammals, 64, 65; Marine aquaria, 66; 
Minerals, 61, 64, 65; National, 64, 65; Naval, 
50; Patents, 56, 58, 64; Reptiles, 04; Rogue's 
Gallery, 52; Secret Service, 52; Shells, 63, 
65; Smithsonian, 63; State Dep't., 47; Taxi- 
dermy, 65; War relics, 47, 64, 65; Washington 
relics, 47, 65, 80, 83; Weights and measures, 
54, 63; Zoological Park, 85. 

Offices (See Bureaus and Committee Rooms). 

Paintings (See also Frescoes and Portraits):- 
Burgoyne's surrender, 26; Chapultepec, 37; 
California, discovery, 33; Colorado chasm, 40; 
Columbus, landing, 25, recall, 40; In Corcoran 
Gallery, 78; Cornwallis, surrender, 26, at 
Yorktown, 33; Criticism on, 27; Declaration, 
signing, 26; De Soto at Mississippi, 25, 27; Elec- 
toral Tribunal, 40; Emancipation Proclama- 
tion, 35; Fortifications, 35; Golden Gate, 3.5; 
Historical, in Rotunda, 2.5, 27; Hudson's land- 
ing, 33; Indian life. 36; Ironclads at war, 40; 
Lincoln and cabinet, 35; Perry's victory, 40; 
Pocahontas' baptism, 25; Pilgrim Fathers, 25; 
Rotunda, 26; Vernon attacking Carthagena, 
83; Washington, resignation, '26, at Yorktown, 
33 83; "Westward Ho!" 35; Yellowstone Canon, 
40] 

Personal Mention (See also Architects 
Artists, Bronzes, Frescoes, Lincoln, Paint- 
ings, Portraits, Statuarg, and Washington; 
Geo.) ■ ' ' "" '" '" * '"■"" ^ " 

22, 33; 

Armstrong, . . ^ . 

Brides in White House, 45; "Brother Jona- 
than," 30, 35; Chase, 40, 41, 86; Cleveland, 45, 
77- Cockburn, 8, 10; Columbus and his contem- 
poiaries, 20-2.5, 22, 25. 26. 40. 41, 76; Corcoran, 
78 86 86; Cornwallis, 26, 26, 33, .50; Cortez, 24 
2.5' 50; Custis, 80, 83; Dallas, 62; "Father of 
Revolution," 32; Fillmore, 19; Franklin, 37, 
40, 55, 70. Garfield, 30, 32, 40, 60 69, 70, 71; Gould, 
Jay 82; Grant, 65; Guiteau, 60, 60; Hamilton, 
3 ;33 39, 39, 44; Haves, Mrs., 43. 44; Pres't, 73; 
Harrison. B., 77; W. H., 44; Historians, aS; 
Jackson, 29, 51, 77; Jefferson, 2, 29, 82, 35, 37, 
40 43- Kendall, 85; Ladies of White House, 
43' 44; Lafayette. 33, 68, 70. 71. 80, 83, 83; Lee, 
Gen'l 80 Gov. 76; Lewis, 82; Madison, Dolly, 
44; Pres't, 8, 44, 77; Marshall, 3.5, 40, 71. 73; 
Mason, Jas. and John, 80; Monroe, 8, 10; 
Morris. 2; Penna. Quakers. 2; Polk, 11, 62; 
President: cottage, 85, office, 44, Paying re- 
inects to,44, Shaking hands, 43, Signing bills, 
17 37; Ross, 10; Rush, 62; Scott, 26, 69, 73, 85; 
Shepherd, 6, 11; Sheridan, 76, 80; Smith, Capt., 
1 26 26; Smithson, 62; Stevens, 41; Surratt, 
Mrs! 48, 86; Taylor, 43, 44; Tyler, 45; Vernon, 
82- Washington. L., 82; Martha, 43, 73, 80, 83,83; 
Webster, 19, 21; Wilkes. 80; Winder, 8, 10; 
Winthrop, 73, 74; Wirz, 11, 86. 
Places (See Reservations). 
Portraits (See also Frescoes and Paintings):- 
Adams, John, 43, Ashburton, Lord, 47; Attor- 
neys-General. 60; Bedford, 35; Calhoun, ^0; Ca,r, 
roll, of Carrollton, 35; Chase, 40; Clay, 35, 39. 
40, Dix. 40; Garfield, 40: Giddings- 33; Hamilton, 
37; Hayes, Mrs., 43; Henry, Patrick, 40; Jay; 
40; Jefferson, 36. 37, 40, 43; Knox, 37: Lafayette, 
33, 83; Lincoln, 43, Mosaic, 40; Marshall, 35. 40; 



.):— Adams, J., 39, 42, 43; Adams, J. Q,., 
3; Armies: Cumberlanrt, 70, Tennessee, 71; 
istrong, 8, 10; Arthur, 42, 77; Booth, W., 48; 



GEXERAL IXDEX. 



89 



Military offlcers. 48; Navy, Secretaries of, 49; 
Osjiood, 37; Polk. Mrs, 43; Postmasters- 
General, 5.5; Presidents, 43; Randolph, Ed- 
mund, 37; Hcott, 37; State, Secretaries of, 47; 
Sumner, 40; Taney, 40; Taylor, 43; Treasury, 
Secretaries of. 52; Tunis. Bey of, 47; Tyler, 
Mrs. 43; Van Buren, 43; War, Secretaries of, 
48; Washington, Geo.: 83, by C. Peale. 37, by 
R. Peale, 37, by Stuart, 3;5. 43. by Vanderlyn, 
33; Washington, Martha, 43; Webster, 40. 

Po^-t Office, city, 55. 

PoTOjr.vc:— Breccia or marble, 15, 17, 32. 41: Dis- 
covery, 1; Falls, 79, 81; Fisheries, 66; Flats, 81: 
Name's, 1; Sandstone (Aquia creek), 15, 17; 
Wharves, 1, 

Relics (See JIuseums). 

Reservations. Squares, Circles and 
Places (See also pp. 68-76):— Capitol 
Grounds. 14; Dupont, 70; Execvitive, 42; Far- 
ragut, 70; Garfield, 69; Hancock, 76; Hospital, 
60; Iowa, 76; Judiciary, 67, 60, 71; Lafayette] 
71; Lincoln, 68, 70; McPherson, 71; .M.all, 69; 
Monument, 73; National Church, 57; Office of 
Sup't, 48; Potomac Flats, 81: Scott, 73; 
Thomas, 13, 73; University, 50; Washington, 
76; Zoological Park. 85. 

Resorts (See Environx). 

Sculptors (See Artixtx). 

Squares (See Jifxcrrations). 

Statuary, IMoNr^iENT.s. Busts, etc. (See 
also i?roMzes):— Adams, J. Q,., 33; Adams, S., 
32; Allen, E., 32; Allen, W.. 32; Angelo, 78; 
Bartholdi Fountain. 68; Bee-She-Kee. or "the 
Buffalo.' 35; "Car of Time" clock" 17, 18, 33; 
Cass, 31. 32; Civilization, 22; Clinton, 32; Col- 
lamer, 32; Columbus, 22; Crawford, 30, 33; 
Custis, 80; Discovery, 22: Da Vinci. 78: Dovcn- 
ing Vase. 68; Dupont, 70; Durer, 78; Emanci- 
pation, 70; Favragut, 70; Foster, 37; Franklin, 
40,70; Freedom, on Dome, 1, 20, 28, 29, 65; 
Fulton, 32; Garfield, 30, 32, 70. 71; Greek 
Slave. 78; Greene, 32, 69. 70; Hall of, 32; 
Hamilton, 33; Hancock. .1., 37; Hancock, 
Gen., 76; "History" clock, 17, 18, 33; Henry, 
71; IlPenserosa, 40; Jackson, 69. 71; Kearney, 
32; King. 31, 32; Kosciusko, 33; Lafayette, 70, 
71: Liberty, on Dome, 1, 20. 28 29. 65; Lincoln, 
as, ;>3, 70, 71,; Livingston, 32; Logan, 68. 76, 86; 
Luther, 71; McPherson, 69, 71; Marshall, 71; 



Muhlenberg, 32; Naval, 67, 71, 73; Noted men 
78; Peace, 22, 67. 71. 73; Phideas, 78; Pulaski, 
33; Raphael, 78; Rawlins, 73; Rembrandt, 78; 
Rubens, 78; Scott, 69, 73, 85; Sheridan, 76; 
Sherman. R., 32; Stockton, 32; Thomas, 13, 73; 
Titian, 78; Trumbull, 31. 32; Union GeneraKs, 
80; Veiled nun, 78; War, 22; Washington, 33, 
69, 73-75, 76, 76, 82; Williams, 32; Wilson, 37; 
Winthrop, 32. 

Transportation. 78. 

Views, 6, 7, 28, 29, 50, 78, 80, 81, 82. 85. 

Washington City anb Dist. of Colum- 
bia: — Advantages. 13; Amusements, 77; Ap- 
propriations for, 12; Areas, principal, 5; Asy- 
lums, 60, 79, 85; Avenues, 5, 12; Boundaries, 
3, 11, SO; Cemeteries, 80, 80, 86; Charities, 84, 
8.5. 86; City P. O., 55; Cleanliness, 12; Club 
life, 77, 81; Defences, S, 10; Development, 4, 
13; Disfranchisement, 12; Early condition 
and planners, 6; Education, 85; Environs, 80; 
Goose Creek, 4, 68; Government, 12, 60; 
Growth, 6-13, 14; Hacks, 79; Hospitals, 85; 
Land, how conveyed, 3, 4, ceeded by Maryland 
and Virginia, 2; reclaimed, 13, 81 ; Levels, 12; 
Markets, 68, 68; Meridian, 36. 50, 85; Names, 
3, 4;0mnibusses, 78; Police, 60; Principal areas, 
5; Railroads, 78; Religious life, 76, 77; Reser- 
vations, etc.. 68; Site, choice of. 2, 3, 4; Social 
life, 1.3, 77; Street arrangement, 4, 5, 12; cars, 
78; Tiber Creek, 4 68; Transformation, 4, 11, 
13; Water Supply, 81. 

Washington, Geo.:— Adopted son, 80; Anni- 
versary, 74; Apotheosis, 27; Books relating to, 
31; Business sagacity, 4; Busts, 33, 76; Cabi- 
net, first, 37; Corner-stone laying. 16. 19, 21, 
39, 42, 73; Crowned, 22; Death-bed, 83; Family 
crest, 82; Home, 82; Inauguration, 39; Jeffer- 
son and Hamilton, 37; Headquarters, 80; 
Master :Mason, 16, 7,3, 74; Medallion, 36; Mt. 
Vernon, 82; National monument, 73-75; Place 
of Worship. 80; Portraits, 26, 33, 37,4.3, 83; 
Princeton, 76; Rebuking Lee, .39; Relics, 47, &5, 
83; Remains, 41, 73, 82; Resignation of, 26; 
Salute to his memory, 84; Sites, choice by, 1, 
2, 73; Statues, 33, 69 76. 76; Tomb, 82; Trenton, 
39: Valley Foree, .36; Yorktown, 33. 

White House, 29, 42-45. 



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